Profile
Toshika Kosako — Sowledge Org
Hello! I’m Toshika Kosako from Sowledge. My work brings together social psychology and hands-on experience in sexuality education and youth support. I conduct research, design programmes, and work with communities to put them into practice.
At Sowledge, our vision is creating a society where everyone can take control of their own life. We work to improve access to emergency contraception and provide ongoing sexual health support through our Youth Clinic Fund.
Yet even the most dedicated youth support providers struggle with high running costs and uncertain funding. Too often, their work depends on individual commitment rather than lasting public support.
Through this project, the Sowledge team and I will pilot a community-based support model. We want to understand how to make support for young people a lasting part of public services, so it reliably reaches those who need it.
What Do You Hope to Achieve Through Your Research?
A high school girl needs emergency contraception but cannot afford it. A young person has experienced sexual violence but has no trusted adult to turn to. Both are left to face their worries alone.
Through our work at Sowledge, we regularly meet young people who cannot access the information, healthcare, or support they need.
Japan has healthcare professionals, midwives, nonprofit organisations, and youth clinics working to support sexual health and wellbeing. Yet many depend on grants, donations, and individual goodwill. Whether young people can access support often depends on where they live and their family circumstances.
We see an opportunity in the public spaces that already exist across Japan. Familiar places such as community centres and libraries could help young people learn about sex and their bodies before problems arise, find someone to talk to when they need help, and access appropriate care.
Our vision is to make young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) a shared responsibility across the community, with reliable support built into everyday life.
Starting with community centres and libraries, we will pilot a network that brings together schools, youth clinics, local government, youth support providers, and young people themselves. We will study what this network needs to work well and last, laying the groundwork for it to become part of established public services.
How Will You Approach This Goal?
Sowledge combines hands-on support with efforts to change the systems around it.
In 2023, before emergency contraception became available over the counter in Japan, we partnered with 21 healthcare institutions to provide it free of charge to around 350 young people. We also provided information about sex and sexual health to approximately 1,800 people.
We have brought outreach youth clinics to schools and facilities that support children, and worked on ways to help healthcare institutions sustain their support for young people. Through our overseas study programme, SowLinks, we learn from approaches in the Nordic countries and elsewhere. We also advocate for better access to emergency contraception and sexuality education.
This work has taught us that individual providers and healthcare institutions cannot reach every young person on their own. Our next step is to use research to understand which approaches work, why they work, and what they need to become a lasting part of community life.
Research and practice will inform each other throughout the project. Questions from the field will guide our research, and the findings will help improve local services and inform policy. Through this process, we aim to develop a youth support model that communities across Japan can adapt and use.
What Is the Research Focus of This Project?
Japan’s national curriculum guidelines have seen little substantial change in sexuality education. Given the timetable for future revisions, fundamental reform is likely to take time. Young people who need support today cannot depend on school reform alone.
Our study will connect accessible public spaces, including community centres and libraries, with healthcare professionals and support providers already working locally. This will create new routes to SRHR support outside school.
Together with young people, healthcare professionals, teachers, local government representatives, and facility staff, we will organise learning events about sex and the body, offer opportunities to ask questions and seek advice anonymously, and develop ways to connect young people with healthcare.
We will use participatory action research and implementation research to understand both the effects of these activities and what it takes to sustain them. We will examine changes in young people’s awareness and how they seek advice and healthcare. We will also explore what helps or hinders collaboration, how partners can share responsibilities and resources sustainably, and how to reach agreement with local government.
We will publish case reports and collaboration protocols that explain how local partners can work together. Our goal is a model that communities across Japan can adapt, helping young people move from learning, to seeking advice, to receiving healthcare and support.
Please Support Our Research
Preventive public health and education are investments in a healthier, more secure future. Their value is substantial, but the benefits take time and rarely generate immediate financial returns. That makes private funding difficult to secure—and support from people who believe in this work especially important.
This project needs more than academic expertise. It needs people from different walks of life, including you, to help us explore a shared question: how can we ensure that young people do not have to face their worries alone?
We want to build a support system that lasts. By connecting healthcare, welfare, education, and local government through familiar public spaces, we will explore how communities can provide reliable support without depending solely on individual goodwill or short-term grants.
Your contribution will fund research carried out with communities in three locations across Japan, beginning in March 2027. We will share what we learn through case reports and collaboration protocols that other communities can use.
Please help us turn local practice into a model that can reach young people across Japan. Together, we can work towards a society where no young person has to face worries about sex and their body alone.
Recommender's comment
Sachiko Takahashi
学校教育だけで若者の多様な学びのニーズに応えることは容易ではありません。包括的性教育についてさまざまな議論が続く中、一般社団法人彩の国思春期研究会の「たんぽぽユースクリニック」のように、知りたい若者が必要な時に安心して学べる場を学校の外にも広げていくことが大切だと考えます。その理念を形にする本プロジェクトに強く共感し、心から推薦します。誰もが安心して相談し学べる仕組みが広がることを期待しています。
Dr Mark Kennedy
Toshika's research tackles an important challenge: how to create sustainable, community-wide systems that support young people's health, wellbeing, and access to care. I am particularly impressed by the project's emphasis on moving beyond short-term, grant-dependent initiatives towards models embedded within existing community infrastructure, such as libraries, community centres, schools, healthcare services, and local government. This participatory and practice-oriented approach has the potential to generate valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and communities seeking to better support young people and reduce isolation around sensitive health concerns.
Saya Fujiwara
I share the concern that current support depends on individuals’ dedication and financial resources, making it unsustainable and preventing it from achieving its full potential.
Concerns about sex affect people throughout society. I see tremendous potential in this research: by using familiar public spaces as entry points, it seeks to transform support that has depended on the efforts of a few into social infrastructure sustained by the whole community.
I firmly believe that this sustainable framework can help more people who are struggling with concerns about sex, and I wholeheartedly support this project!
Project timeline
| Date | Plans |
|---|---|
January 2027 |
Plan the pilot study, including outreach youth clinics, and coordinate logistics. |
March–April 2027 |
Launch pilot activities at community centres and libraries in three prefectures across Japan. |
August 2027 |
Present findings at an academic conference in Japan. |
October 2027 |
Publish the case reports and collaboration protocols. |
Pledge Rewards
Along with a thank-you message, we will send you a download link for Sowledge’s original LINE stickers.
Original Sowledge LINE Stickers
scheduled date details
| return | scheduled date |
|---|---|
| SowledgeオリジナルLINEスタンプ | November, 2026 |
33 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
Your name will be listed as a supporter in the case report published by Sowledge.
This reward is scheduled for December 2027.
Rewards are cumulative: all rewards at lower contribution levels are included.
Your Name Listed in the Case Report / Original Sowledge LINE Stickers
scheduled date details
| return | scheduled date |
|---|---|
| ケースレポートにお名前掲載 | December, 2027 |
| SowledgeオリジナルLINEスタンプ | November, 2026 |
23 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
An opportunity to speak directly with a researcher or project team member via Zoom. This session is for those who would like to discuss the research topic, explore possibilities for joint research or collaboration, or exchange ideas about our activities.
The session will be led by either Kosako, the research lead, or Suzuki, Sowledge’s representative director.
Rewards are cumulative: all rewards at lower contribution levels are included.
Online Research Discussion with the Research Team / Original Sowledge LINE Stickers / Your Name Listed in the Case Report
scheduled date details
| return | scheduled date |
|---|---|
| 研究者とのオンライン研究交流会 | December, 2026 |
| SowledgeオリジナルLINEスタンプ | November, 2026 |
| ケースレポートにお名前掲載 | December, 2027 |
8 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
We will send you original sexuality education materials developed by Sowledge.
This reward is scheduled for December 2026.
You can choose either “Purabe,” a resource for preschool children and children in the early years of primary school, or “Break Sugoroku,” a dialogue-based sexuality education board game.
Rewards are cumulative: all rewards at lower contribution levels are included.
Your Choice of Educational Materials / Original Sowledge LINE Stickers / Your Name Listed in the Case Report / Online Research Discussion with the Research Team
scheduled date details
| return | scheduled date |
|---|---|
| 教育教材（選択可能） | December, 2026 |
| SowledgeオリジナルLINEスタンプ | November, 2026 |
| ケースレポートにお名前掲載 | December, 2027 |
| 研究者とのオンライン研究交流会 | December, 2026 |
0 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
We will provide 10 units of “SEED,” Sowledge’s original sexuality education slide resource for junior high school students. Each unit contains approximately 20 slides, for a total of around 200 slides.
This reward is scheduled for December 2026.
Rewards are cumulative: all rewards at lower contribution levels are included.
“SEED” — 10 Units of Sexuality Education Teaching Slides for Junior High School Students / Original Sowledge LINE Stickers / Your Name Listed in the Case Report / Online Research Discussion with the Research Team / Your Choice of Educational Materials
scheduled date details
| return | scheduled date |
|---|---|
| 中学生向け性教育授業スライド『SEED』10単元分 | February, 2027 |
| SowledgeオリジナルLINEスタンプ | November, 2026 |
| ケースレポートにお名前掲載 | December, 2027 |
| 研究者とのオンライン研究交流会 | December, 2026 |
| 教育教材（選択可能） | December, 2026 |
0 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
We will send you three types of Sowledge’s original toilet paper printed with sexuality education content, along with files for three digital educational resources.
This reward is scheduled for February 2027.
Rewards are cumulative: all rewards at lower contribution levels are included.
Three Types of Sexuality Education Toilet Paper and Three Digital Educational Resources / Original Sowledge LINE Stickers / Your Name Listed in the Case Report / Online Research Discussion with the Research Team / Your Choice of Educational Materials / “SEED” — 10 Units of Sexuality Education Teaching Slides for Junior High School Students
scheduled date details
| return | scheduled date |
|---|---|
| 性教育トイレットペーパー3種及びデジタル教材3点 | February, 2027 |
| SowledgeオリジナルLINEスタンプ | November, 2026 |
| ケースレポートにお名前掲載 | December, 2027 |
| 研究者とのオンライン研究交流会 | December, 2026 |
| 教育教材（選択可能） | December, 2026 |
| 中学生向け性教育授業スライド『SEED』10単元分 | February, 2027 |
3 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
Sowledge will design and deliver a lecture, workshop, or training session tailored to your needs.
This reward is scheduled for April 2027.
Online and in-person formats are available for discussion. For in-person sessions, we may need to discuss travel expenses with you.
Rewards are cumulative: all rewards at lower contribution levels are included.
A 90-Minute Sexuality Education Session / Original Sowledge LINE Stickers / Your Name Listed in the Case Report / Online Research Discussion with the Research Team / Your Choice of Educational Materials / “SEED” — 10 Units of Sexuality Education Teaching Slides for Junior High School Students / Three Types of Sexuality Education Toilet Paper and Three Digital Educational Resources
scheduled date details
| return | scheduled date |
|---|---|
| 性教育講義（90分） | April, 2027 |
| SowledgeオリジナルLINEスタンプ | November, 2026 |
| ケースレポートにお名前掲載 | December, 2027 |
| 研究者とのオンライン研究交流会 | December, 2026 |
| 教育教材（選択可能） | December, 2026 |
| 中学生向け性教育授業スライド『SEED』10単元分 | February, 2027 |
| 性教育トイレットペーパー3種及びデジタル教材3点 | February, 2027 |
0 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
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Your Name Listed in the Case Report and others
Support this project
23
supporters
back
（No quantity limit）
Online Research Discussion with the Research Team and others
Support this project
8
supporters
back
（No quantity limit）
“SEED” — 10 Units of Sexuality Education Teaching Slides for Junior High School Students and others
Support this project
0
supporters
back
（No quantity limit）
Three Types of Sexuality Education Toilet Paper and Three Digital Educational Resources and others
Support this project
3
supporters
back
（No quantity limit）
A 90-Minute Sexuality Education Session and others
Support this project
0
supporters
back
（No quantity limit）
academist Prize 4th adopted
