The Hatachi Fund is a Japanese financial body that aims to provide
ongoing support for education and independence for children living in the stricken area so that they can grow into independent twenty-year-old adults who will in turn support society at large (twenty-years-old,hatachi, is the age of maturity in Japan).

Hatachi, which in Japanese means both twenty-years-old and “leaves”…
so that a tree trunk (the children) can grow, leaves which turn the Sun’s
light into energy need to exist. Won’t you become a leaf like that?

Fundraising to support those affected by the disaster has swept across the country. We hear that a lot of supplies have reached us from across the globe. That people from across this globe have provided this much support in such a short period of time without relying on the government and showing us the extent of what each of us can do, it feels as though the world’s kindness has shone a large light on Japan’s future. But from now the reconstruction will commence at an accelerated pace, and reports from the affected areas will eventually disappear from the media. Like the Hanshin-Awaji disaster and the Niigata earthquake, interest will weaken over time.

In the near future, even if the towns have recovered, even if the schools are repaired, lost family and friends will not return. The children will have a lot of “homework” to get over. But without forgetting the pain of the disaster, if there is someone who can keep giving encouragement – “you are not alone” – over the long term, keep providing kindness, we believe this can be the driving force to get through this trial. And in turn, with the strength due to overcoming this trial, they can become an adult of strength and kindness, and in turn be an ally to help solve the future challenges society will face.

Children who have faced hardship and adversity can become stronger and kinder than anyone. The growth of children living in the stricken area is this country’s new hope. With these thoughts in mind, we established this fund to provide on-going support to children.

We start this fund with its length as the twenty years it takes the infants who were yet to turn one-year-old when the earthquake occurred to be able to greet their coming-of-age ceremony.