The Sakura Medal program brings together students from international schools across Japan each year to vote for their favorite books. The mission of the Sakura medal award program is to create a community of lifelong readers in international schools in Japan. We aim for a diverse selection of fantastic and engaging books.
Develop a lifelong love of reading
Encourage reading, particularly outside the classroom setting
Create a community of readers, both in our individual schools and in the wider international school community
Highlight Japanese authors, setting, themes and culture
Highlight new and lesser known authors
Diversity of genre, author, countries, experiences, worldview, and underrepresented populations
Expose students to fantastic books in multiple formats, including graphic novels and non-fiction books
Winners of the Sakura Medal are awarded a certificate, a medal, and an original piece of art. We have modeled this after the Nobel Prize. The original art work is selected from a student art competition; an example of a past year's competition can be seen here.
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