The LISD offers an annual exchange for Lenawee’s middle school students to host Japanese students and visit Japan. The exchanges with Moriyama (in Shiga prefecture) have a long history and a strong list of Lenawee students and teachers who have been positively affected by opening their minds and hearts to new experiences.

Bob Behnke, Japanese Exchange Coordinator
LISD William J. Ross Education Service Center
4107 N. Adrian Hwy., Adrian, MI 49221
Email Japanese Exchange Coordinator

Moriyama's delegation will visit in October 2025 and the Lenawee delegation will travel to Japan in June 2026. The application deadline is April 30, 2025.

Additional Information

• Background Check Form (required after being selected as a program participant)

• Promotional Flyer

• Important Dates

Travel Timeline
While we are still in the early planning stages of the trips, both visits are about ten days. The Japanese students will be hosted in Lenawee for about five of those days. The remaining days are for traveling around with the coordinator, other Japanese students, and Japanese chaperones. This is tentatively scheduled for late October. The Lenawee students will have the same length itinerary, with the trip to Japan tentatively scheduled for June.

The Lenawee – Moriyama, Japan Middle School Exchange Program aims to improve understanding between Japan and Lenawee County through active experiences and direct contact with a peer of another culture.

In this short term exchange, Lenawee County students are chosen to host students from Moriyama. Teacher chaperones are also selected to host the Moriyama delegation’s teachers. The Japanese delegation visits here around Halloween. This gives students and their families a chance to share five days of their lives during a fun season. A schedule is organized for the Japanese guests to give them a brief look at family life, school, and highlights of Michigan and its culture.

After the Japan delegation returns home, the Lenawee delegation meets in the following months to learn Japanese history and culture and to prepare for a trip to Moriyama in June. While in Japan, Lenawee County students have the opportunity to learn about family life while staying with the same person that they hosted over Halloween. The delegation also visits a Moriyama junior high school and sees highlights of the area around the city. In addition, they take a two-day trip to Hiroshima and Kyoto to learn a part of Japan’s history. Partial scholarships are provided as available through donations by Adrian Noon Rotary Club, Anderson Development Company, the Japan Business Society of Detroit, and the United States-Japan Foundation.

If you’re a high school student, information about Michigan supported educational exchanges with Shiga prefecture can be found at the link below.