Japan Financial Education Support Organization and Matsudo City Collaborate: University Students to Lead Financial Education Workshops for High School and Middle School Students

The Japan Financial Education Support Organization (headquartered in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo; hereinafter "the Organization") has been selected through Matsudo City's "Matsudo SDGs × Industry-Academia-Government-Public Collaboration Proposal Window" and will implement a joint financial education project with the city.

This initiative leverages Matsudo City’s existing collaboration framework with four local universities—Teikyo University, Chiba University Faculty of Horticulture, Nihon University Matsudo Dental School, and Ryutsu Keizai University—to build a "cyclical financial education model" in which university students learn and practice as community-based financial educators.

Objectives

This project is not solely focused on delivering financial education to middle and high school students.

Its core goal is to establish a system where university students themselves deepen their financial knowledge through study and certification (such as FP qualification), gain hands-on experience in teaching, and grow into future leaders of community financial education.

By simultaneously providing learning opportunities for younger students and practical training for university students, the project aims to create a self-sustaining cycle of financial education talent within the community.

Overview of the Co-Creation Project

Matsudo City and the Organization will jointly host a financial education event titled "Road to FES Contest: Workshop in Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture" on Friday, August 21, 2026, at Art Spot Matsudo.

The FES Contest is a financial education program in which middle and high school students learn about the "Eight Powers of Money"—spending, earning, paying taxes, saving, preparing, giving, borrowing, and growing—and create a one-minute video to communicate their learning to elementary school students.

During this workshop, with support from local professionals and university students who have studied finance, middle and high school participants will deepen their financial literacy and produce video entries for the FES Contest. They will enhance not only their understanding of finance but also their abilities to think critically, express themselves, and communicate effectively through video production.

University students participating in this project will go beyond logistical support—they will pursue FP certification and engage in practical financial education activities, thereby being trained as future community financial educators.

The Organization is conducting a nationwide recruitment for university student team members, and will hold an online information session titled "4th FES Contest University Member Recruitment in Matsudo City" on Thursday, July 2, 2026, at 9:00 PM JST.

Registration via Google Form: https://forms.gle/kT5K6YFCKSzydwcRA

While the FES Contest is designed for middle and high school students, it also serves as a real-world, experiential learning platform for university students. They will participate broadly in supporting student learning during workshops and outreach classes, as well as in publicity, participant recruitment, community coordination, and planning and operation of regional and national contest events.

By collaborating with diverse professionals—including municipal officers, financial institution staff, teachers, and corporate representatives—students will develop practical skills in project management, communication, and planning.

The Organization views university students not merely as operational staff, but as next-generation community leaders who transition from "learners" to "educators." Through this Matsudo City initiative, the Organization aims to realize a generational, cyclical financial education model where university, high school, and elementary school students learn from and teach one another.

A generational, cyclical financial education model where university, high school, and elementary students grow from "learners" to "educators" through mutual learning.

About the Matsudo SDGs × Industry-Academia-Government-Public Collaboration Proposal Window

Established in January 2023 by the Future Co-Creation Division of Matsudo City’s Policy Planning Department, this window accepts collaborative project proposals from diverse stakeholders—including private companies, universities, research institutions, and citizen groups—with the goal of contributing to the achievement of the SDGs. It connects these proposals with administrative challenges and transforms them into actual policies and initiatives.

This collaborative project contributes directly to the achievement of SDG Goals 4 (Quality Education) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Background of the Collaboration with Matsudo City

The Organization recognized Matsudo City—a place where students are closely connected to the local community—as an ideal environment to test a model where university students lead and give back financial education to their communities. As such, it submitted this project proposal to the "Matsudo SDGs × Industry-Academia-Government-Public Collaboration Proposal Window."

Finance is a foundational element of society, relevant to education, employment, entrepreneurship, regional revitalization, and welfare. The Organization aims to use finance as a common language to connect university students from diverse academic backgrounds and foster new forms of collaborative learning centered on local challenges, starting in Matsudo City.

By positioning financial education as a platform, the Organization seeks to build an ecosystem where local business professionals, university students, and secondary school students connect across generations, each serving as both learners and contributors.

Upcoming Schedule

2026 (Reiwa 8): June–July

July 2

Recruitment of university student volunteers

Online information session for university team members

June–August

Recruitment of middle and high school students for the workshop

August 21

Workshop implementation

(Venue: Art Spot Matsudo, 9F Kitemite Matsudo)

October 25

Chiba Prefecture Regional FES Contest Award Ceremony

(Venue: Lecture Hall, Chiba City Museum of Art)

November 28

National FES Contest Award Ceremony

(Venue: KABUTO ONE Hall)

Through this project, the Organization will work to establish a university-led financial education model in Matsudo City and, leveraging its outcomes, promote the nationwide expansion of community-integrated financial education models that foster mutual learning between youth and local communities.

Japan Financial Education Support Organization

Co-Representative Directors: Risa Hirai, Nana Abe

B106, 2-11-7 Surugadai, Kanda, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo

Phone: 03-6674-1435

Established: December 28, 2022

Official Website: https://faincation.com/

Email: info@faincation.com