In seeking to realize a “children first” society, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) is reviewing its overall policies from the perspective of children and comprehensively promoting child-oriented policies.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Basic Ordinance on Children calls for building an environment where children are nurtured by society as a whole, so that all children can grow up healthy and happy with hope for today and the future. Furthermore, to strengthen child-oriented policies, it is crucial to advance measures from a global perspective.
With these points in mind, this year, the TMG hosted the second Tokyo Global Forum on Children (TGFC), inviting senior officials of overseas governments who oversee child-oriented policies. The forum served as an opportunity for the TMG to showcase its child-oriented policies to the world and for participants to share challenges related to child-oriented policies and measures with which to address them.
This second iteration of the forum was held under the theme “Initiatives that support adolescents” and featured discussions centering on topics such as mental health. This theme was selected after considering matters including a recent report by an international organization highlighting adolescent mental health as a serious global issue and the particularly high level of interest in the topic among participating governments.
This year’s forum welcomed the participation of 20 overseas governments from around the world, surpassing last year’s participation of 13 overseas governments. This forum, which brings together senior officials in charge of child-oriented policies for discussions that transcend national and regional borders, is a pioneering initiative that is one of the few of its kind worldwide.
Testimonials
“Each session was thoughtful and helpful.”-LONDON
“All arrangements were top class.”-HELSINKI
“I particularly appreciated the presentations delivered by colleagues from outside Europe, as they reflect contexts, approaches, policies, and methods that I am less familiar with and that greatly helped me to look at my work from a different perspective, not to take anything for granted, and to broaden my mind both professionally and personally.”-MILAN
“The TMG’s forum is by far one of the most useful conferences I have participated in. Everything has been absolutely perfect!”-HOUSTON
Forum Videos
Videos of keynote presentations and presentations by forum participants can be viewed below.
Day 1 – February 4, 2026
Day 2 – February 5, 2026
Overview
Dates
Wednesday, February 4 – Friday, February 6, 2026
Participating overseas governments (in alphabetical order)
20 (Auckland, Berlin, Brussels, Cardiff, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Houston, Ireland, London, Malmö, Milan, Munich, New Taipei City, New York City,* Petaling Jaya, Singapore, Surabaya, Taipei, Toronto, Vienna)
*New York City participated virtually.
Program
Wednesday, February 4, 2026 – Keio Plaza Hotel 42F
| 10:30a.m. | Opening ceremony |
| 1:00 p.m. | - Video message from Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko
- Remarks by a representative of the Children and Families Agency of Japan - Remarks by a representative of the United Nations University - Keynote presentation by Dr. Kinoshita Isami (Chair of the Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) Committee, Japan Committee for UNICEF) |
| 1:50 p.m. | Session 1: “Work experiences for adolescents”
-Keynote presentation by Ms. Tanaka Risa (President of the Graduate School of Project Design) -Presentations by Auckland, Ireland, Petaling Jaya, Taipei, and Tokyo |
| 3:40 p.m | Session 2: “Places where adolescents feel a sense of belonging”
-Keynote presentation by Mr. Yamamoto Akifumi (Director of b-lab (Bunkyo-ku Plaza for Youth)) -Presentations by Tokyo, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, and Helsinki |
| 6:00 p.m. | Welcome reception |
Video message from Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko
Opening remarks by Tokyo Vice Governor Matsumoto Akiko
Remarks by a representative of the Children and Families Agency of Japan
Remarks by a representative of the United Nations University
TMG official speaking during a discussion
Forum underway
Presentation by an overseas city (Copenhagen)
Official from Berlin speaking during a discussion
Thursday, February 5, 2026 – Keio Plaza Hotel 42F
| 10:00a.m. | Session 3: “Adolescent mental health”
-Keynote presentation by Dr. Nishida Atsushi (Director of the Research Center for Social Science & Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science) -Presentations by Cardiff, Houston, Malmö, and New Taipei City |
| 11:35a.m. | Session 3 (continued): “Adolescent mental health”
-Presentations by Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto, and Vienna |
| 2:00p.m. | Session 2 (continued): “Places where adolescents feel a sense of belonging”
-Presentations by London, Milan, Munich, New York City, and Surabaya |
| 5:00p.m. | Presentation and networking session with teenagers from Tokyo (participants of the TEENS SQUARE TOKYO PROJECT 2025 and the “World Campus” study tour program to Belgium) |
Keynote presentation by Dr. Nishida Atsushi of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science
Presentation by an overseas city (Houston)
TMG official speaking during a discussion
Official from Toronto speaking during a discussion
Children from Surabaya speaking during a Q&A session
Official from Helsinki speaking during a Q&A session
Presentation by TEENS SQUARE TOKYO PROJECT 2025 participants
Presentation by participants of the “World Campus” study tour program to Belgium
Networking session with teenagers from Tokyo
Group photo with teenagers from Tokyo
Friday, February 6, 2026 – Site visits across Tokyo
| 10:00a.m. | “Kimimamo” (Comprehensive consultation center for youth in Kabukicho) |
| 2:00p.m. | “UPS” (Setagaya-ku Center for Youth Exchange in Kibogaoka) |
| 4:00 p.m. | “Musashino Place” (Multi-purpose facility in Musashino City that includes a library and supports the activities of youth) |
Walking to the “Kimimamo” consultation center in Kabukicho
“Kimimamo” facility explanation
Q&A session at “Kimimamo”
Tour of the “UPS” Setagaya-ku Center for Youth Exchange
Touring “Musashino Place”
In front of “Musashino Place”