"Found Companions for the First Time" – When Can We Still Find Companions in an Age of Non-Immersion?
Certified NPO SET has launched a new podcast series to publicly discuss operational challenges related to youth engagement in local communities. It explores how NPO management should adapt to a changing society, sharing insights and tips for fostering empathy and sustainable community building.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 13, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: May 13, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 14, 2026 at 05:30 (18h 58m after Collected)
“Activities are booming, but people aren’t showing up for general gatherings. Even when called, there’s no response—”
Doesn't your NPO feel this way too?
Certified NPO SET, based in Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture, has been connecting youth and communities for 15 years, and has long felt this disconnect. Things should be going well, yet something feels off. SET is surely not the only NPO that has continued operations without being able to articulate this feeling.
An attempt to verbalize this disconnect in public has begun. Certified NPO SET launched a new series, "The Reality of Citizen-Participatory NPO Management – Exploring the Next Generation of Citizen-Participatory NPO Operations as Generations and Eras Change," on May 8, 2026, as part of its official podcast, "SET Podcast: Creating New Abundance in an Age of Population Decline." This is a three-part public meeting, starting with an assessment of the current situation, co-hosted by the board chairs of SET and the newly established NPO miraito.
■ What Has Changed, What Is No Longer Communicating?
Internships have become one-day affairs, and the number of students deeply involved with a single organization has decreased. In a changing environment of social media, AI, and a comparative society, the world surrounding young people has completely transformed. In the first episode, distributed on May 8, this situation was directly framed as "the limits of the success model from 10 years ago." Asking "Have young people changed, or has the environment changed?" is the starting point for designing future operations. The very fact that both organizations shared this same sense of disconnect underscores the urgency of this question.
■ What Will Be Discussed in the Three Episodes?
Episode 2, scheduled for distribution on May 15, will feature the words of a high school student who said, "I found companions for the first time." In an age where it's hard to feel fully immersed, when do we still feel like "companions" with someone?—The core of community, often hard to see in numbers or participant counts, emerges from a single high school student's words.
Episode 3, scheduled for distribution on May 22, will discuss the "decision to let go" that a 15-year-old NPO faced. "People in their 20s have their own communities"—by acknowledging this and redesigning roles by age, the organization reportedly re-energized. By publicly sharing the process of inquiry, rather than just answers, they aim to deliver hints to NPOs and regional organizations nationwide facing similar feelings of disconnect.
■ Listen Now / About the Program
"SET Podcast: Creating New Abundance in an Age of Population Decline" is a future-exploring podcast that delivers inquiries from the field, starting from the social issue of population decline. The new series is distributed every Friday.
▶ Listen on Spotify:
▶ Listen on Apple Podcasts
Distribution schedule: Episode 1 May 8 / Episode 2 May 15 / Episode 3 May 22
Certified NPO SET is also recruiting monthly supporters (from 500 yen/month) to support its activities. They are widely calling for participation in creating an environment where young people can take on challenges in the community with full enthusiasm.
■ About Certified NPO SET
SET's mission is "to transform individual 'wants' into 'cans' and bring 'Good Change' to Japan's future." Since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, they have created systems for youth and residents to learn together, primarily in Iwate Prefecture. Through school trip homestays, programs for university students and adults, and community building, they foster "ongoing relationships" where young people engage in daily community life and learn alongside residents. In fiscal year 2024, over 5,000 people participated. Currently, activities are expanding beyond Iwate to multiple regions. By simultaneously fostering youth growth and regional vitality, they are working on sustainable community development based on the relationships between people and regions themselves. They have received the Prime Minister's Award twice in the past, among numerous other awards.
【Organization Overview】
Certified Specific Non-profit Organization SET
Location: 52-6 Yamada, Hirota-cho, Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture
Chairman: Shunsuke Mitsui
Established: March 12, 2011 (Incorporated: June 18, 2013, Certified: October 16, 2025)
Official Website: https://www.nposet.org
Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_nposet/?hl=ja
Official Podcast Spotify: https://x.gd/wh4Lo Amazon Music: https://x.gd/TjRP0
【Inquiries regarding coverage】
Public Relations: set.forjapan@nposet.com
Phone: 0192-47-5747
Doesn't your NPO feel this way too?
Certified NPO SET, based in Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture, has been connecting youth and communities for 15 years, and has long felt this disconnect. Things should be going well, yet something feels off. SET is surely not the only NPO that has continued operations without being able to articulate this feeling.
An attempt to verbalize this disconnect in public has begun. Certified NPO SET launched a new series, "The Reality of Citizen-Participatory NPO Management – Exploring the Next Generation of Citizen-Participatory NPO Operations as Generations and Eras Change," on May 8, 2026, as part of its official podcast, "SET Podcast: Creating New Abundance in an Age of Population Decline." This is a three-part public meeting, starting with an assessment of the current situation, co-hosted by the board chairs of SET and the newly established NPO miraito.
■ What Has Changed, What Is No Longer Communicating?
Internships have become one-day affairs, and the number of students deeply involved with a single organization has decreased. In a changing environment of social media, AI, and a comparative society, the world surrounding young people has completely transformed. In the first episode, distributed on May 8, this situation was directly framed as "the limits of the success model from 10 years ago." Asking "Have young people changed, or has the environment changed?" is the starting point for designing future operations. The very fact that both organizations shared this same sense of disconnect underscores the urgency of this question.
■ What Will Be Discussed in the Three Episodes?
Episode 2, scheduled for distribution on May 15, will feature the words of a high school student who said, "I found companions for the first time." In an age where it's hard to feel fully immersed, when do we still feel like "companions" with someone?—The core of community, often hard to see in numbers or participant counts, emerges from a single high school student's words.
Episode 3, scheduled for distribution on May 22, will discuss the "decision to let go" that a 15-year-old NPO faced. "People in their 20s have their own communities"—by acknowledging this and redesigning roles by age, the organization reportedly re-energized. By publicly sharing the process of inquiry, rather than just answers, they aim to deliver hints to NPOs and regional organizations nationwide facing similar feelings of disconnect.
■ Listen Now / About the Program
"SET Podcast: Creating New Abundance in an Age of Population Decline" is a future-exploring podcast that delivers inquiries from the field, starting from the social issue of population decline. The new series is distributed every Friday.
▶ Listen on Spotify:
▶ Listen on Apple Podcasts
Distribution schedule: Episode 1 May 8 / Episode 2 May 15 / Episode 3 May 22
Certified NPO SET is also recruiting monthly supporters (from 500 yen/month) to support its activities. They are widely calling for participation in creating an environment where young people can take on challenges in the community with full enthusiasm.
■ About Certified NPO SET
SET's mission is "to transform individual 'wants' into 'cans' and bring 'Good Change' to Japan's future." Since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, they have created systems for youth and residents to learn together, primarily in Iwate Prefecture. Through school trip homestays, programs for university students and adults, and community building, they foster "ongoing relationships" where young people engage in daily community life and learn alongside residents. In fiscal year 2024, over 5,000 people participated. Currently, activities are expanding beyond Iwate to multiple regions. By simultaneously fostering youth growth and regional vitality, they are working on sustainable community development based on the relationships between people and regions themselves. They have received the Prime Minister's Award twice in the past, among numerous other awards.
【Organization Overview】
Certified Specific Non-profit Organization SET
Location: 52-6 Yamada, Hirota-cho, Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture
Chairman: Shunsuke Mitsui
Established: March 12, 2011 (Incorporated: June 18, 2013, Certified: October 16, 2025)
Official Website: https://www.nposet.org
Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_nposet/?hl=ja
Official Podcast Spotify: https://x.gd/wh4Lo Amazon Music: https://x.gd/TjRP0
【Inquiries regarding coverage】
Public Relations: set.forjapan@nposet.com
Phone: 0192-47-5747