The International House of Japan (Minato-ku, Roppongi, Tokyo; President: James M. Kondo; hereinafter referred to as IHJ) is now accepting applications for fellows for the 2026 academic year for the "Nitobe Leadership Program," which supports next-generation leaders tackling social issues. The "Nitobe Leadership Program" is a program designed to cultivate young leaders who address increasingly diverse and complex social issues with a perspective that transcends existing frameworks. The program was launched in 2008, named after Inazo Nitobe, who played a central role in the establishment of IHJ and demonstrated outstanding internationalism and leadership under the belief "I shall be a bridge between Japan and the rest of Asia," greatly influencing figures such as Aisuke Kabayama, Tamonten Maeda, Yashiro Takagi, and Shigeharu Matsumoto. Since its inception, the program has produced approximately 190 graduates who have challenged social change and sent out individuals active in various fields. For the 2026 academic year, we will implement a program lasting approximately six months from September 2026 to March 2027, combining lectures, training camps, and study tours, with the theme "How Will You Solve Social Issues in a Diverse World?" The faculty includes leading figures from various fields, such as film director Naomi Kawase, whose works have won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival; architect Sou Fujimoto, who designed the large roof ring for the Osaka-Kansai Expo; Yuichi Tsuda, former "Hayabusa2" project manager and Deputy Director of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) at JAXA; Toshihito Kumagai, Governor of Chiba Prefecture; and Kazuhiko Tomiyama, founder of IGPI Group. This is a practical program where participants will learn how to approach increasingly diverse and complex social issues and cultivate a perspective for creating social change through dialogue and discussion with lecturers active at the forefront of their respective fields