Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Program (SSEAYP)

The Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Program (SSEAYP) is an annual youth exchange program sponsored by the Government of Japan in cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The program aims to promote friendship and mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation among the youth of Japan and ASEAN member countries.

SSEAYP is based on the respective Joint Statements issued in January 1974 between Japan and the founding members of the ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined the program in 1985. Eleven years later, Vietnam participated, followed by Lao and Myanmar in 1998; then Cambodia in 2000. 

In order to broaden the participants’ perspective of the world and enable them to gain practical skills for international collaboration, they are given the unique opportunity to live and travel together to designated ports of call within the region aboard the cruise ship MS Nippon Maru for more than a month. Onboard activities during voyages include cultural presentations, group discussions on youth and social issues, sports, recreation, and club activities. 

Country program or port of call activities include courtesy calls, institutional visits, interaction with local youth through community service projects, national presentation, and cultural immersion through homestay experience. The aim is to cultivate the youth who can exercise  leadership skills in various fields in the globalized society, take the world’s social agenda as their own, and move into action to solve those issues.