Overview:
Palau High School and Tokyo’s Oshima Kaiyo Kokusai High School sign sister-school agreement to build long-term maritime exchange.
By: Summer Kennard
“Local people in Oshima are involved in fisheries and diving, just like Palau,” said Oshima Kaiyo Kokusai Vice Principal Satoru Suzuki — a sentiment that set the tone as Tokyo Metropolitan Oshima Kaiyo Kokusai High School and Palau High School formalized their sisterhood agreement on Nov. 25, marking the beginning of a long-term friendship rooted in shared ocean identity.
PHOTO CREDIT: SUPPLIED
The agreement establishes a foundation for maritime education and cultural exchange between the two island-based schools. Oshima Kaiyo Kokusai — a public, three-year boarding high school on Oshima Island in Tokyo — operates with the motto “Learning from the Sea, Shaping Our Future.” The school offers four specialized courses: Ship Operation, Marine Biology, Marine Industry and Marine Exploration.
Principal Keiji Asano, Vice Principal Suzuki and a group of students traveled to Palau to sign the agreement and present the vision behind the collaboration.
Suzuki said the decision to partner with Palau stemmed from shared island lifestyles and ocean-based livelihoods. “Involving industry like fisheries, diving shops — so it’s the same as Palau,” he said, noting that Palau’s safety, warm relations with Japan, and strong environmental reputation made the connection feel natural.
“Palau is one of the safest countries,” he added. “People are very friendly to Japanese. It aligns with everything we want for our students.”
The partnership is expected to create opportunities for joint learning about maritime careers, peace education through historic sites like Peleliu, and studies on conservation, ecotourism and island sustainability.
Under the school’s international education plan, the sisterhood aims to:
• Promote student and teacher exchanges, in-person and online
• Develop joint research on marine conservation and sustainable fisheries
• Share best practices in maritime and environmental education
• Strengthen friendship between Pacific island nations connected by the same ocean
Asano said the goal is to build a bond that grows year after year. “We hope it becomes continuous — not just a one-time visit, something sustainable every year.”
One landmark initiative is already underway: senior Ship Operation students from Oshima plan to sail to Palau in early 2027 as part of their mandatory final voyage, an eight-day journey before graduation. School leaders hope Palauan students will eventually travel to Japan as well.
The shared time zone between Palau and Japan offers a practical advantage, Suzuki said, allowing both schools to conduct real-time joint classes online — a challenge with partners in regions like Hawaii or the United States.
“This is perfect,” he said. “We can have classes online together before the students travel.”
Both schools expressed excitement for what lies ahead.
“I’m very glad to have this agreement with Palau High School,” Asano said. “We hope it grows into something meaningful for both communities.”
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