B Project | Project Base

Bunkyo University – Adachi Campus, Japan, renewed its partnership with Ateneo de Naga University (ADNU) through the second installment of Project BASE (Bunkyo-Ateneo Student Exchange), held on September 1 and 2, 2025. The initiative brought together eight International Studies students from Bunkyo, led by Prof. Akiko Watanabe, for a series of educational visits, outreach activities, and cultural immersion experiences with their Filipino counterparts.

The visiting Japanese students were warmly welcomed by ADNU student volunteers organized by Rodolfo Virtus Jr., Director of the Office of Student Affairs. Together, the students participated in institutional visits, including outreach programs at the Missionaries of the Poor in Naga City and Our Lady of La Porteria Academy in Calabanga, Camarines Sur. These visits offered insights into the care of marginalized sectors such as abandoned children, differently-abled individuals, and the elderly, as well as the Philippine basic education system.

As part of their outreach, the ADNU volunteers distributed school supplies and hygiene kits to children at the visited institutions.

In addition to these service-oriented activities, the Japanese students experienced Filipino culture firsthand through homestay arrangements with local families, and engaged in interactive cultural exchanges designed to deepen mutual understanding and appreciation between the two nationalities.

Project BASE is an extension of Project B, which was launched in 2020 to promote international dialogue and collaboration. Since its inception, the partnership has facilitated both virtual and onsite engagements. Earlier in May, students from both universities participated in online discussions tackling global issues such as education, migration, employment, environmental sustainability, and cultural diversity. These discussions highlighted how both institutions contribute to addressing these challenges.

Many of the activities under Project BASE are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly: SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals, through the strong collaboration between ADNU and Bunkyo; SDG 4: Quality Education, by facilitating cross-cultural learning; and SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being, by supporting vulnerable communities.

This ongoing partnership, strengthened by the two universities’ Memorandum of Understanding, reflects a shared commitment to forming globally-aware, socially-responsible students, and to promoting international friendships rooted in service, learning, and cultural exchange.

2nd Project BASE with Adachi Campus: ADNU-Bunkyo’s Project BASE Highlights Global Citizenship, Community Outreach – Ateneo de Naga University

Ateneo de Naga University (ADNU) hosted Bunkyo University from Koshigaya City, Japan, for the second face-to-face run of the B Project.

The visiting group from Bunkyo University included six students—Akiho Arai, Katsuto Takeda, Miyuki Hayashi, Rio Miyauchi, Mei Murao, and Hana Yamaya. They were accompanied by Prof. Alec R. LeMay from the Faculty of Foreign Letter, and Junta Matsushima from the International Programs Division.

During their 14-day visit, the Japanese students engaged in cultural immersion, built connections with Filipino student organizations, and participated in community outreach initiatives in Naga City and Camarines Sur. The ADNU Office of Student Affairs (OSA), led by Rodolfo “Sonny” SB. Virtus Jr., managed the project and organized a team of student "buddies" to support the activities.

Before the visit, students from Bunkyo University and ADNU participated in weekly online discussions and presentations from September 2024 to January 2025. These sessions served as preparation for their collaboration.

The project focused on education and environmental awareness. Two of the five service areas involved schools, namely Don Manuel Abella Central School (DMACS) in Naga City and Our Lady of La Porteria Academy (OLPA) in Calabanga, Camarines Sur. Activities included teaching traditional Japanese arts such as shodō (calligraphy) and origami (paper folding) to students. The Japanese university also donated printers to both schools. 

In addition to educational activities, the group carried out clean-up drives and tree planting efforts. At Belen, Calabanga, a community vulnerable to storm surges, the group collaborated with local youth volunteers in collecting trash and planting mangrove 300 propagules over two days. ADNU has been supporting mangrove reforestation efforts in the area for several years.

The group also planted over 70 saplings in the Forest-in-Our-Midst area at Barangay Panicuason, Naga City, with assistance from the ADNU Center for Community Development. This activity contributed to local environmental conservation efforts.

The program included a two-day homestay, where the Japanese students stayed with Filipino families, experiencing Filipino culture in both urban and rural settings.

The Japanese participants also joined cultural activities, including a cosplay event organized by the OSA in partnership with The Otaku League. Traditional Filipino games were introduced as part of "Laro ng Lahi," promoting cultural exchange between the participants.

The project concluded with a gathering where Japanese students prepared Japanese dishes, while Filipino students shared popular local street food. This culinary exchange marked the program’s conclusion.

Bunkyo University and ADNU anticipate the continuation of the B Project, supported by a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2023. The agreement aims to sustain the partnership and enhance collaboration between the two institutions.

2nd Onsite B Project with Koshigaya Campus: ADNU Hosts Bunkyo University for Second “B Project” – Ateneo de Naga University 

As an offshoot of the ongoing B Project with the Koshigaya Campus of Bunkyo University, Japan, students from the Adachi Campus engaged with Ateneo de Naga University student volunteers in four dynamic virtual sessions in May 2024. These sessions, named as Project BASE (Bunkyo-Ateneo Student Exchange) facilitated meaningful cultural exchanges and discussions on various social issues.

On August 27-28 of the same year, these students, accompanied by their teacher, Prof. Akiko Watanabe, visited Naga City! Although the inaugural onsite Project BASE was brief, it showcased significant potential for future collaborations. Key highlights of the visit included cultural exchanges, homestays, and outreach activities in an indigenous community and an elementary school in Barangay Villaflorida, Ocampo, Camarines Sur.

This experience not only enriched the participants understanding of each other’s cultures and social issues, but also strengthened the foundation for ongoing partnerships between the Japanese and Filipino universities.

1st Project BASE with Adachi Campus: https://www.facebook.com/share/1A5SqKgPFz/ 

Dr. Alec Lemay from Bunkyo University in Japan, recently visited Ateneo de Naga University (ADNU) on 6-7 March 2024. The visit was part of the two universities’ ongoing collaboration, known as the “B Project.

Since 2020, both universities have been working together on the project, and have carried out various virtual activities even during the pandemic. In 2023, they formalized their cooperation through a Memorandum of Understanding.

During his visit, Dr. Lemay paid a courtesy call to the university president, Fr. Robert E.N. Rivera, S.J., and met with both old and new student volunteers. He expressed his gratitude to ADNU and reaffirmed their commitment to continue the joint project. Dr. Lemay also took the opportunity to revisit the mangrove trees that he and Japanese students had planted in Belen, Calabanga as part of their outreach activities four years ago.

Additionally, Dr. Lemay met with Rodolfo SB. Virtus Jr., from the Office of Student Affairs, who had visited Bunkyo University for the B Project International Conference in October 2023. Together, they planned for a combination of online and onsite activities with student organization leaders for the upcoming School Year 2024-2025.

Visit of Prof. Alec Lemay in ADNU: Bunkyo University Rep Visits ADNU – Ateneo de Naga University 

In November 2023, Mr. Virtus visited Bunkyo University to participate in the B Project International Cooperation Conference. During his visit, he engaged in discussions with Prof. LeMay and other university administrators on the future direction of the B Project and delivered a class presentation on service learning. He also toured BU’s Adachi campus to explore further avenues for collaboration.

In 2024, the partnership expanded with the creation of Project BASE (Bunkyo-Ateneo Student Exchange), which facilitated meaningful dialogues between BU’s International Studies students and ADNU student leaders. Five virtual meetings in May 2024 covered topics such as health, education, gender equality, and migration. The first in-person Project BASE visit occurred on August 27-28, 2024, when nine Japanese students and their teacher, Professor Akiko Watanabe, visited Naga City. This visit featured cultural exchanges, homestays, and outreach activities in Barangay Villaflorida, Ocampo, Camarines Sur.

The Ateneo de Naga University (ADNU) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bunkyo University (Bunkyo, for brevity) of Saitama Prefecture, Japan to formalize their international cooperation which started during the pre-pandemic.

Signing the MoU in July and August 2023 were: Hiroyuki Kami, Dean of the Faculty of Language and Literature, and Emi Itoi, Department Chair of the same Faculty (representing Bunkyo), and Fr. Roberto Exequiel N. Rivera, S.J., University President, and Rodolfo SB. Virtus Jr., Director of the Office of Student Affairs (representing ADNU).

The inter-university relations began in February 2020 when the Japanese students of “Workshop for Projects class, with their teacher, Alec LeMay, flew to Naga City, Province of Camarines Sur, Philippines, and launched the B Project in ADNU and selected communities as part of their course requirement that combines project-based learning and post-experiential reflection to engage Japanese students with other parts of the world. With Virtus and student volunteers, the Japanese group promoted cultural interactions, established friendly relations with members of ADNU student organizations, and conducted social outreaches in five communities in Camarines Sur, Bicol.

During the pandemic, the B Project took part in ADNU’s virtual Alternative Class Program, by conducting two sessions of Basic Japanese Language and Culture Workshop, titled “Watashi Wa,” held on October 15 and November 13, 2021. The series of online engagements concluded with ADNU’s Zoom presentation entitled, “Wow Philippines!: Your Guide to Filipino Culture and Language” on November 27, 2021. 

The same virtual set-up ensued in School Year 2022-2023 the B Project. On December 9, 2022, ADNU student volunteers delivered a Zoom event, “Madya: A Voyage toward Understanding Philippine and Bicol Culture,” for the students and teachers of BU. Here, ADNU students prepared videos and reports on Bikol cuisine, the usual routines and activities of an Ateneo student, and some similarities of Japanese and Filipino cultures. Finally, on May 13, 2023, ADNU made a similar presentation during BU’s English Camp participated in by Bunkyo teachers and first year Bunkyo students. 

With the MoU now in place, the B Project is set to revive its onsite activities in SY 2023-2024. LeMay will bring to ADNU a new class of Japanese students in February 2024 to organize cultural exchange and outreach activities with ADNU student volunteers. Meanwhile, a series of interactive online activities and preparations shall have been scheduled in the first semester.

Signing of Memorandum of Understanding Between Ateneo de Naga University and Bunkyo University: https://www.facebook.com/share/14Lf3ipGsKF/ 

Ateneo de Naga University, thru the Office of Student Affairs, completed three projects in collaboration with Bunkyo University during the School Year 2023-2024.

Bunkyo University, a higher education institution in Japan, has been engaged in projects with ADNU since 2020 through a Memorandum of Understanding.

The most recent endeavor, known as Project BASE (Bunkyo-Ateneo Student Exchange), involved Bunkyo – Adachi Campus’s International Studies students and ADNU student leaders. Over the course of five meetings held on May 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31, 2024, participants presented and discussed a range of current issues, initiatives that address them, personal experiences and insights. The topics covered diverse areas such as health and nutrition, gender equality, education, employment, and migration, among others.

Under the guidance of their teacher, Dr. Akiko Watanabe, the students are anticipating a visit to Naga City in August of this year.

Another ongoing project with Bunkyo’s Koshigaya Campus, referred to as Project B, continued virtually from August 2023 to January 2024. Japanese students and ADNU student leaders engaged in nearly weekly meetings, participating in icebreakers and culminating in virtual presentations about each country's traditions, including aspects such as food and music, as well as tourism and educational system. Dr. Alec Lemay and two students from Bunkyo University served as resource speakers and workshop facilitators during the first semester's Alternative Class Program. The project concluded with a sharing of the students' traditional Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Moreover, two speakers from Project B were selected to present during the English Camp, which was attended by first-year Bunkyo University students. They provided valuable cultural information about the Philippines, and answered questions from the Japanese students.

Rodolfo SB. Virtus Jr., the Director of OSA, convened the ADNU student volunteers and effectively supervised the implementation of these projects.

Online B Project in 2023: ADNU, Bunkyo University Collaborate on Three Projects in SY 2023-2024 – Ateneo de Naga University 

Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, BU and ADNU sustained their collaboration through virtual engagements. In 2021, a new cohort of BU students participated in ADNU’s Alternative Class Program, conducting two online workshops titled “Watashi Wa,” which introduced basic Japanese language and culture. The series culminated in a presentation, “Wow Philippines!: Your Guide to Filipino Culture and Language,” on November 27, 2021.

Online B Project in 2021: 

https://www.facebook.com/share/1GMxi29Mhe/ 

https://www.facebook.com/share/1D55LU9suG/ 

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CBztLpFiw/ 

10 March 2020, Naga City - Students and faculty from Bunkyo University (BU), Japan, paid a courtesy call to Ateneo de Naga University President Fr. Roberto Exequiel N. Rivera, S.J. on 10 March 2020. In this meeting, Fr. Rivera and the Japanese university’s delegation, headed by Alec LeMay, discussed the future of their collaborative undertakings at the conclusion of the first-ever B Project (as in Bunkyo) in ADNU and varied communities in Camarines Sur. 

The next day, March 11, Alec LeMay and his students Saki Fujie, Nanako Iizuka, Saori Hara, and Jobert Jarson Angeles took part in the Student Organizations’ Festival. From their origami-decorated booth at Xavier Hall, they taught shodō (Japanese calligraphy) and offered Japanese tea to student organizations. In the late afternoon of the same day, they joined the parade on campus and the Orgs’ Fest Night, where they donned their traditional garment yukata, and performed three songs, culminating their stay in the city. 

The Japanese university, in 20 days, promoted Japanese culture, established friendly relations with members of student organizations, and conducted social outreaches in five communities in Bicol, as part of the students’ course requirement that combines project-based learning and post-experiential reflection to engage Japanese students with other parts of the world. 

For the first run of the B Project, education and environment were BU’s primary areas of concern; in fact, two of the five service areas were schools, namely Sua Elementary School in Canaman, and Don Manuel Abella Elementary School (DMACS) in Naga City. The team hopped from one class to another to teach pupils the shodō and origami (art of paper folding), and introduce traditional Japanese music through the traditional bamboo flute called shakuhachi, among other interactive activities. At the said Naga City school, BU’s project coincided with the school’s Brigada Pagbasa launch, participated in by Vice Mayor Cecilia De Asis, Naga City Schools Division Superintendent Mariano De Guzman, and other Department of Education and ADNU officials. Here, both BU and ADNU, through the College Reading Center, donated books in support of the literacy enhancement program. 

The team also led clean-up drive and tree planting in two sites. The first was the storm-surge prone Belen, Calabanga, which ADNU has adopted as a partner barangay for many years now, to support the village’s mangrove reforestation program.  Here, the team and some local youth volunteers picked up piles of trash washed ashore, many of them entangled on the tree roots. When the tide went out later in the morning, they planted propagules across the tidal flat. 

With the assistance of Naga City Environment and Natural Resources Office, the group also planted more than 50 saplings of native duguan at Inarihan River Easement at Panicuason, in Naga City. The activity supported the Forest-In-Our-Midst Program, a brainchild of Mayor Nelson Legacion. 

The team also contributed to the ongoing 34th Bahay Atenista project at San Roque, Canaman. The beneficiary of the house is Olivares family, whose old dwelling made of light materials was almost torn down by supertyphoon Nina in 2016. Together with couple Felix and Rosie, and ADNU volunteers, the Japanese carried and passed around sacks of gravel and sand, mixed concrete, and finished the house’s flooring in two days.

In most of the aforesaid activities, the visitors from Japan were accompanied by a pool of ADNU student volunteers or ‘buddies’ organized by the Office of Student Affairs. In one session, the buddies gave a lecture on important Filipino words/phrases, and practical tips for the foreigners’ stay in the country. 

Two families of the said volunteers even hosted the visitors-turned-friends in a two-day home-stay, one of the main features of B Project, which allowed the visitors from Japan to experience and understand Filipino culture.  

Bunkyo University intends to sustain the engagement with ADNU by finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding and returning to Naga City in 2021 or whenever possible for the second run of the “B” Project.