Japan Kauri Education Trust (JKET) operates Japanese Children's Library and Japanese Heritage Centre (Japanese language/cultural education classes) for the Japanese community in Auckland. Our main role is to preserve Japanese cultural and linguistic heritage for the next generation of Japanese in New Zealand. For this purpose, we conduct educational & cultural activities which will help the next generation be proud of and comfortable with their identity and achieve their full potential. Also, we promote effective relationships with local communities, and bridge the gap between the New Zealand and Japanese cultures to foster mutual recognition and understanding which leads to enriched multicultural society. Addition to these services, in recent years, we started our new role as a 'Social Safety Net' for the Japanese community. With this new role we aim to help those who are struggling with their life in NZ due to the language barrier. We have helped many cases of domestic problems by connecting the people to the local social services.
■Japanese Children's Library
Our Japanese Children’s Library have more than 12,000 Japanese children's books which cover wide range of categories and target ages. We are the biggest Japanese children’s library in New Zealand. Our objectives to run this library to assist children who are either born in Japan or have Japanese parents living in New Zealand to enjoy books written in the Japanese language. Encourage children to enjoy and develop their affinity for books, and to support and develop their reading habits and attitudes toward their life through books. Create an environment where parents and children can enjoy books written in Japanese together. Also we are welcome local people to learn Japanese. Annual Family Membership Fee: $65
■Japanese Heritage Centre
In April 2010, we began a new venture in the hope that our kids will continue to enjoy both Japanese and KIWI culture. We established a Japanese class called ‘Te to Te” to offer Japanese language and culture study as a heritage activity for older children. We named this class “Te to Te” (which means holding hands) to link Japanese families with each other and also with local people. Currently we offer the classes for the children from Japanese descent families and also from non-Japanese speaking families.
■Our History
Jan 2006
Japanese Children's Library founder Naoko Miyauchi started to ask people living in NZ and Japan to donate Japanese children’s picture books to set up a library. Dec 2006
Naoko brought 2654 books from Japan and started to lend them out. She was given 100 kids books from the Ito-chu foundation in Japan and Former Japanese Children's Library(Inch Japanese Picture Book Library )was established. Feb 2007
Former Japanese Children;s Library( Inch Japanese Picture Book Library )founded Japanese Play Group “MICHIKUSA“. Dec2009
We were given kids books from the Ito-chu foundation in Japan again. April 2010
Former Japanese Heritage Centre, Japanese heritage class“Te to Te” started. Jan 2013
Approved as a Charitable Trust NPO and established Japan Kauri Education Trust. November 2015
Moved to Glenfield, in the premises of a Japanese corporation. June 2020
Due to the business closure of the Japanese corporation, we lost our home base and had to shutdown our services. July 2020
Leased the spaces from Birkdale Community House & Beach Haven Community House to offer Japanese language/culture classes for children, however we had to keep Japanese Children's Library closed due to the lack of space and the difficulty to transferring over 12000 books. December 2020
Thanks to the funding support from Office of Ethnic Communities and Foundation North and the donations to our crowdfunding page, we were able to make enough fund to lease a business property in Rosedale, Auckland.
11 January 2021
Reopening Japanese Children's Library in the new location, Rosedale, Auckland.
