Japan Study Abroad Opportunity - Leading Outside the Lines: Women, Culture & Community Leadership

February 23, 2026

Leading Outside the Lines: Women, Culture, and Community Leadership - Japan, Summer 2026
Leadership today is global, relational, and shaped by diverse cultural contexts—and this program offers students the opportunity to explore leadership practices across Japan’s dynamic social landscape. Students will engage directly with women leaders making an impact across fields such as religion, agriculture, entrepreneurship, Indigenous advocacy, and cultural preservation. Through site visits in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Fukuoka—including maid cafés, Ainu cultural centers, nun-run cafés, women-led farms, and former coal mining communities—students will explore how leadership is developed, challenged, and reimagined in different spaces.

Throughout the program, students will meet with local leaders, scholars, and community innovators to examine important concepts such as identity, culture, leadership development, and community building. Students will strengthen their cross-cultural leadership skills through hands-on learning, critical reflection, and real-world dialogue. By the end of the program, participants will gain a broader global perspective, an understanding of leadership across diverse cultural settings, and tools for promoting socially responsible leadership in their future careers.

Highlights
Explore leadership and gender in Japan through site visits to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Fukuoka, engaging directly with innovative leaders in religion, business, cultural preservation, and rural revitalization.
Participate in immersive cultural experiences, including visits to a maid café, an Ainu cultural center, a Maiko historical tour, women-led farms, and leadership seminars at partner universities.
Develop global leadership skills through critical reflection, community-based learning, and conversations with scholars, religious leaders, and community innovators.

https://masonabroad.gmu.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgramAngular&id=10789

For more information

Highlights
Explore leadership and gender in Japan through site visits to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Fukuoka, engaging directly with innovative leaders in religion, business, cultural preservation, and rural revitalization.
Participate in immersive cultural experiences, including visits to a maid café, an Ainu cultural center, a Maiko historical tour, women-led farms, and leadership seminars at partner universities.
Develop global leadership skills through critical reflection, community-based learning, and conversations with scholars, religious leaders, and community innovators.

https://masonabroad.gmu.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgramAngular&id=10789