SOS Children's Villages' activities in the country
In Japan, a group supporting the general notion of SOS Children's Villages was organised around Ms Kinuko Takeda already back in the days of the founder of the SOS Children's Villages, Mr Hermann Gmeiner. As a result of the group's strong commitment, a national SOS Children's Villages association was founded and an office established in Matsumoto in 1986. A few years later, the office moved to Tokyo.
The association's main goal was to specifically promote the philosophy of SOS Children's Villages. Public relations activities eventually broke the ground for financing villages throughout the Asian region. After ten years of dedicated attempts to firmly establish SOS Children's Villages in Japan, the office had to be closed upon the retirement of Ms Takeda in 1997.
First steps are currently taken to re-establish the SOS Children’s Villages idea in Japan. It is planned to build a new SOS Children’s Village, after the Japanese SOS Children’s Village Association is re-founded.