The Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund supports the TOMODACHI initiative of the governments of the United States and Japan and the US-Japan Council. The fund maintains the TOMODACHI Summer Coca-Cola Educational Homestay Program, which is offering homestays in the United States in 2012 through 2014 for high school students from areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

This year, 60 students took homestay trips under the program from Sunday, July 22, through Thursday, August 9 (including domestic travel and a pre-trip briefing). After an orientation in Washington D.C., the students used such themes as American culture and history and introducing Japan to learn practical English at their homestay locations. They stayed in Burlington, Vermont; Erie, Pennsylvania; Elizabethtown, Kentucky; and Salem, Oregon. The feedback was very positive, with participants noting that they hopefully acquired life-long friends and gained knowledge about English and culture.

Having reconfirmed the program's value in fostering youth by providing opportunities to learn about American culture and global perspectives, the fund has decided to offer homestays to 120 students annually in 2013 and 2014. As a result, 300 high school students from quake-affected areas will have participated in the program from 2012 through 2014.

The Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund is committed to assisting in areas afflicted by the Great East Japan Earthquake, including by building vital educational and public facilities and by fostering youth.

Note: The fund will present details of the 2013 program at a later date.