One of my favourite things about the Kenya–Japan relationship is that it’s not just a story of governments and institutions, it’s a story of people. The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme is one of the clearest examples.

For decades, young Kenyans have joined JET as Assistant Language Teachers, Coordinators for International Relations, and Sports Exchange Coordinators, scattering across Japan’s 47 prefectures to teach English, share Kenyan culture, and learn about Japanese life from the inside.

These young professionals arrive in Japan ready to teach, but they end up doing much more. In classrooms, they introduce students to Kenya’s history, wildlife, music, and languages. In staff rooms, they answer questions about life in Nairobi or Mombasa. In community centres, they might lead a Kenyan cooking class or a traditional dance session. For many Japanese children—and sometimes their parents, this is the first time they’ve met someone from Africa in person.

The impact is mutual. Kenyan JET participants learn about Japan’s emphasis on teamwork, its meticulous approach to problem-solving, and its deep respect for community traditions. These lessons don’t fade when the contract ends. Many return home to apply what they’ve learned in business, education, or public service. Some even go on to start ventures that link the two countries, using the networks they built during their JET years.

In a small town in rural Shikoku, a Kenyan teacher might be the first African that students and sometimes their parents have ever met. In Tokyo, another might be introducing a classroom to Swahili greetings or Kenyan folk tales. And in every case, the exchange runs both ways: our youth return with lessons in discipline, attention to detail, teamwork, and technology integration that they carry into their careers back home.

This people-to-people diplomacy isn’t limited to JET. Since 1983, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), more than 4,500 Kenyan professionals have studied and trained in Japan.

They now form the JICA Ex-Participants Alumni of Kenya (JEPAK), a network shaping industries from health to ICT. JEPAK’s story is a reminder that when we talk about development cooperation, we’re also talking about creating a talent pipeline for the future, one where skills are refined abroad and then reinvested at home.

And the connections last. Japanese students often keep in touch with their Kenyan teachers, visiting Kenya years later as tourists or business partners. Alumni become informal ambassadors for life, carrying warm, authentic impressions of each other’s countries into every conversation and opportunity.

The JET Programme reminds us that people are the most reliable infrastructure any partnership can have. Buildings may age and roads may crack, but the friendships and understanding built in a classroom can last a lifetime.

Since April at Expo 2025 Osaka, I’ve seen how these human stories resonate with visitors. People recognise the cranes on our skylines and the turbines in our power stations, but when they hear about the engineer who trained in Hokkaido now running a renewable energy firm in Naivasha, or the nurse who studied in Osaka leading maternal health initiatives in Kisumu, the partnership becomes tangible and human. That’s the real legacy of Kenya–Japan cooperation; one that builds not just infrastructure, but futures.