AI x Entrepreneurial Spirit x Global – Junior and Senior High School Girls Changing Society with Technology Gather in Tokyo on Saturday, June 20th! Live Streamed Nationwide on YouTube Live

NPO Waffle (Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Sayaka Tanaka, hereinafter "Waffle") will hold the official Japan pitch event for "Technovation Girls 2026," the world's largest app development competition aimed at fostering the next generation of tech leaders (supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and UN Women Japan Liaison Office), in Tokyo on Saturday, June 20, 2026. The event will be live-streamed nationwide on YouTube Live.

Technovation Girls is an international educational program where junior and senior high school girls (*) develop apps on the theme of solving social issues and learn IT skills and entrepreneurial spirit. In Japan, Waffle serves as the official ambassador, supporting participants in collaboration with other education-focused NPOs.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Technovation Girls' launch in Japan. The event will be a culmination, bringing together the support system, network, and alumni community cultivated over these 10 years.

This time, junior and senior high school students from across Japan formed teams of up to five members and spent approximately six months discussing how to solve social issues through technology and developing apps. In fiscal year 2026, 78 teams and 408 participants from all 47 prefectures across Japan participated. Through mentoring by business professionals active in various companies, in-person events where participants from all over the country gather, and online international exchanges with participants from the Nigeria branch, even more enhanced support and exchange opportunities were provided, resulting in the highest level of participant motivation and app quality ever.

The Japan official pitch event is a unique program held annually by Waffle, separate from the global competition held at the US headquarters. Similar to how startup entrepreneurs present to accelerators and investors, 11 teams selected through preliminary screening will present their apps and business plans to judges and receive evaluations. Excellent teams will receive prizes and promotional support from sponsoring companies.

[Key Highlights of Technovation Girls This Year]

◾️ Introduction of AI ethics perspective into judging criteria. Towards nurturing innovators who balance "technology and ethics."
In fiscal year 2026, evaluation items related to AI were significantly added to the US headquarters' judging standards. How AI was utilized, records of prompts used, and consideration for AI ethics, all became subjects of evaluation. Participants can develop the ability to critically consider the impact of AI, not just "using it." By incorporating ethical considerations and the utilization process into the evaluation criteria for AI-powered product development, a perspective that re-examines the relationship between technology and society is fostered. The aim is to move beyond mere skill acquisition to "balancing technology and ethics" as a quality of a responsible innovator.

◾️ Tokyo, Osaka, Nigeria – Expanding exchange opportunities, both real and online.
In fiscal year 2026, two in-person feedback events were held during the program period, where business professionals and expert mentors from various companies directly engaged with participants. A large number of volunteers from companies supporting Technovation Girls, such as NTT Group, MetLife Insurance Co., Ltd., Amazon Web Services Japan G.K., Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd., and Salesforce Japan Co., Ltd., participated as mentors. Furthermore, on April 25th, an online international exchange meeting was held with Technovation Girls participants from the Nigeria branch, which saw approximately 10,000 participants from within Japan last year. Through the expansion of exchange opportunities across industries, regions, and national borders, Waffle is promoting the creation of an environment where women can envision broader and more concrete career options in the technology field.

18 junior and senior high school students from Kansai, Chubu, Shikoku, and other regions nationwide gathered at the Osaka venue (cooperation: NTT Docomo Kansai Branch).

57 participants from across the country gathered at the Tokyo venue (cooperation: Uniadex Ltd.).

Scenes from the online international exchange meeting with Technovation Girls participants from the Nigeria branch.

◾️ Challenge Stage also held simultaneously – Fierce competition unfolding across two stages.

This year, in addition to the 10 finalist teams, a "Challenge Stage Event" will be held in the morning for teams ranked 11th to 20th in the preliminary rounds. After realistic pitches similar to those of startups, one top team will advance to the final stage in the afternoon.

[Event Outline (Planned)]

Date: Saturday, June 20, 2026

Venue: Within Tokyo (details to be announced later)

Live Stream: YouTube Live (pre-registration required)