The University of Tokyo RCAST Iida Lab × Asset Management One Hold Spring Break Workshop: Money and Science to Create the Future!
Asset Management One and the Iida Laboratory at the University of Tokyo held a financial and economic education workshop for elementary and junior high school students, providing an experience to learn about the connection between money and society, and demonstrating the company's ESG/CSR activities and contribution to next-generation education.
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- 📰 Published: April 3, 2026 at 20:00
Asset Management One Co., Ltd. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO Noriyuki Sugihara; hereinafter "Asset Management One"), through its "Institute for Nurturing the Future" which promotes financial and economic education, co-hosted a spring break workshop titled "Money and Science to Create the Future" (hereinafter, this event) with the Iida Laboratory at the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (hereinafter, "Iida Lab") on March 28, 2026, at the University of Tokyo's Komaba I Campus (Meguro-ku, Tokyo). This event was held as part of Global Money Week (*).
Makoto Iida, a Project Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, specializes mainly in renewable energy (wind power generation) but is also active in multiple fields including climate change, disaster recovery support, regional revitalization, and education, under the aspiration to "contribute to the future 100 years from now." The Iida Lab is one of the recipients of Asset Management One's donation scheme, "Hagukumu Investment Plus," and this event was realized through this connection.
To realize a future society, "money" is an essential element, just as much as dreams and technology. However, opportunities for children to learn how to engage with "money" in society are not sufficient. Based on this awareness, this event provided a program where participants could experience the connections in society starting from "personal spending habits."
On the day of the event, 23 students from 5th grade of elementary school to 2nd grade of junior high school participated. After thinking about the relationship between the development of society, science, and money, and the significance of personal spending, they took on the challenge of creating a "map of money flow" using graphic recording.
Feedback from the participating children included comments like, "I thought the flow of money was a straight path, but I found out it's actually intertwined in complex ways," and "When I actually drew the 'map of money flow,' I could see things that I wouldn't have understood just by thinking normally. I realized that various things in society are connected and circulate."
Asset Management One will continue to promote awareness and dissemination activities in the fields of personal asset formation, financial well-being, and financial and economic education.
**About Global Money Week (*))**
"Global Money Week" is an international awareness campaign promoted by the OECD's International Network on Financial Education (INFE) to advance financial education and financial inclusion for children and youth. (https://www.globalmoneyweek.org/)
Asset Management One endorses the mission of Global Money Week, which aims to "raise awareness about the importance of financial education and inclusion for children and youth, and to provide all children and youth with opportunities for financial education and financial inclusion."
**About Asset Management One**
Asset Management One is an asset management company launched in October 2016. Its assets under management (*) in both the "investment advisory" and "investment trust" business areas boast a scale of approximately 80 trillion yen, one of the largest in Japan. By bringing together the wisdom related to asset management that it has cultivated, Asset Management One, as an asset management company with the corporate message "Nurturing the future with the power of investment," aims to provide the highest level of solutions for the diverse investment needs of individual and institutional investors, including active management of traditional assets supported by a global research system and cutting-edge investment strategies utilizing financial engineering.
*Assets under management are as of the end of December 2025.
Official HP: https://www.am-one.co.jp/
Company Name: Asset Management One Co., Ltd.
Financial Instruments Business Operator, Kanto Local Finance Bureau (Kinsho) No. 324
Member Associations: The Investment Trusts Association, Japan
**About the Institute for Nurturing the Future**
The Institute for Nurturing the Future was established within Asset Management One in October 2023 for the purpose of promoting awareness and dissemination activities in the fields of personal asset formation, financial well-being, and financial and economic education. Aiming for the realization of "a future where each individual can build a better relationship with money for their present and envisioned future, and enjoy life with peace of mind," professional personnel with expertise in asset management, financial economics, financial planning, etc., disseminate information from a neutral and objective standpoint, separate from products.
Official HP: https://www.am-one.co.jp/hagukumu/
**About "Hagukumu Investment Plus"**
"Hagukumu Investment Plus" is an initiative to contribute to a sustainable global future, where Asset Management One donates a portion of the trust fees it receives based on the balance of its sustainable investment products. The company selects and donates to organizations whose worldview of "creating the future" and efforts to solve social and environmental issues it can empathize with.
Makoto Iida, a Project Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, specializes mainly in renewable energy (wind power generation) but is also active in multiple fields including climate change, disaster recovery support, regional revitalization, and education, under the aspiration to "contribute to the future 100 years from now." The Iida Lab is one of the recipients of Asset Management One's donation scheme, "Hagukumu Investment Plus," and this event was realized through this connection.
To realize a future society, "money" is an essential element, just as much as dreams and technology. However, opportunities for children to learn how to engage with "money" in society are not sufficient. Based on this awareness, this event provided a program where participants could experience the connections in society starting from "personal spending habits."
On the day of the event, 23 students from 5th grade of elementary school to 2nd grade of junior high school participated. After thinking about the relationship between the development of society, science, and money, and the significance of personal spending, they took on the challenge of creating a "map of money flow" using graphic recording.
Feedback from the participating children included comments like, "I thought the flow of money was a straight path, but I found out it's actually intertwined in complex ways," and "When I actually drew the 'map of money flow,' I could see things that I wouldn't have understood just by thinking normally. I realized that various things in society are connected and circulate."
Asset Management One will continue to promote awareness and dissemination activities in the fields of personal asset formation, financial well-being, and financial and economic education.
**About Global Money Week (*))**
"Global Money Week" is an international awareness campaign promoted by the OECD's International Network on Financial Education (INFE) to advance financial education and financial inclusion for children and youth. (https://www.globalmoneyweek.org/)
Asset Management One endorses the mission of Global Money Week, which aims to "raise awareness about the importance of financial education and inclusion for children and youth, and to provide all children and youth with opportunities for financial education and financial inclusion."
**About Asset Management One**
Asset Management One is an asset management company launched in October 2016. Its assets under management (*) in both the "investment advisory" and "investment trust" business areas boast a scale of approximately 80 trillion yen, one of the largest in Japan. By bringing together the wisdom related to asset management that it has cultivated, Asset Management One, as an asset management company with the corporate message "Nurturing the future with the power of investment," aims to provide the highest level of solutions for the diverse investment needs of individual and institutional investors, including active management of traditional assets supported by a global research system and cutting-edge investment strategies utilizing financial engineering.
*Assets under management are as of the end of December 2025.
Official HP: https://www.am-one.co.jp/
Company Name: Asset Management One Co., Ltd.
Financial Instruments Business Operator, Kanto Local Finance Bureau (Kinsho) No. 324
Member Associations: The Investment Trusts Association, Japan
**About the Institute for Nurturing the Future**
The Institute for Nurturing the Future was established within Asset Management One in October 2023 for the purpose of promoting awareness and dissemination activities in the fields of personal asset formation, financial well-being, and financial and economic education. Aiming for the realization of "a future where each individual can build a better relationship with money for their present and envisioned future, and enjoy life with peace of mind," professional personnel with expertise in asset management, financial economics, financial planning, etc., disseminate information from a neutral and objective standpoint, separate from products.
Official HP: https://www.am-one.co.jp/hagukumu/
**About "Hagukumu Investment Plus"**
"Hagukumu Investment Plus" is an initiative to contribute to a sustainable global future, where Asset Management One donates a portion of the trust fees it receives based on the balance of its sustainable investment products. The company selects and donates to organizations whose worldview of "creating the future" and efforts to solve social and environmental issues it can empathize with.
FAQ
What is the purpose of this workshop?
It aims to help children learn about the role and connections of money in society and deepen their financial understanding, based on the idea that money, not just technology, is crucial for the future.
Who participated in the event?
23 students from 5th grade elementary to 2nd grade junior high school participated. It was hosted by Asset Management One and the Iida Laboratory at the University of Tokyo's RCAST.
Why did these two organizations collaborate?
The collaboration was sparked by a connection formed through Asset Management One's donation to the Iida Laboratory via its 'Hagukumu Investment Plus' scheme.