It was a hot, hot summer in Japan this year – but that didn’t stop our team from doing awesome things! Enjoy our post-summer round-up of stories!

Hospital Facility Dog Program

Yogi, the beautiful golden retriever and our second Hospital Facility Dog at Shizuoka Children’s Hospital (SCH), left us on August 10th.

Shine On! Kids and SCH together launched the Hospital Facility Dog Program in January 2010 – the first of its kind in Japan.

Born on June 18, 2011, Yogi succeeded his predecessor, Bailey—the first Hospital Facility Dog in Japan—in July 2012. Over the course of his career, he visited 26,778 children before retiring in September 2021. After retirement, Yogi enjoyed a peaceful life in the mountains of Nagano, Japan, with his handler, Keiko Suzuki. On August 10th, he completed his journey of 14 years, 1 month, and 22 days.

We are deeply grateful for everyone’s warm support throughout Yogi’s career and during his retirement, which allowed him to spend his final years in comfort and happiness.

You can remember Yogi in this video: “Yogi, Who Made Children in Hospital Smile, Retires After Nine Years” produced by PECO Channel.

We thank Yogi for his nine years of devoted service, bringing smiles and courage to children, their siblings, families, and hospital staff ♥️.

Hospital Facility Dog (HFD) Masa has been working at the National Center for Child Health and Development in Tokyo since 2021 with his handler, Ayami Gonnokami. In June 2024, in addition to his usual bedside visits, accompanying children to the operating room, sitting with them during procedures, participating in rehab and more, Masa began collaborating with dentists and dental hygienists to provide support during dental treatment.

At the 30th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Palliative Medicine, in July 2025, Ayami presented a poster titled: “Pediatric Dental Care Using a Hospital Facility Dog – A Report on Activities Involving Patients Undergoing Long-Term Inpatient Treatment.”

It’s not something that immediately comes to mind when you think of the challenges hospitalized children face, but dental treatment is highly stressful for children. Without proper care, maintaining a healthy oral environment becomes difficult, potentially impacting treatment of their underlying conditions. This small research project tracked Masa’s work with 12 children. The interventions by the HFD team were reported to clearly reduce stress associated with dental care and increase compliance. Just another evidence-based application of the power of our Hospital Facility Dogs!

Shine On! Community

Camp Courage gives pediatric cancer survivors and their families a chance to spend time in nature away from their daily routine. We create a space where survivors, siblings, and their guardians can share their feelings openly, engage with peers, learn new skills and have fun! This year 11 families joined and 69 people in total participated, including staff and volunteers from diverse professional backgrounds (including medical support staff). Take a look at the short video of this year’s event here!

And, we’d like to extend our deepest gratitude to Brendan

Gallagher, whose support through Executive Fight Night XIII made this year’s event possible. Thank you, Brendan!

This month, Shine On! Kids’ intern, Reina, a student at the American School in Japan, shares her experience as a volunteer for Camp Courage, and introduces our crowdfunding campaign.

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“Over the summer, I had the privilege of joining Camp Courage for Survivors, where I connected with incredible children and their families.

What was truly remarkable was that despite their arduous journeys, the children were enjoying the moment and being their vibrant, innocent selves. Watching them play with balloons or spinning tops, it struck how “normal” these kids are. While speaking with one of the nurses, she told me a story that stuck with me; some people are reluctant to volunteer for events like this, due to the stigma or even pity that stems from misunderstanding cancer and those who live with it. Therefore, I felt gratitude towards the community we were able to foster where the kids felt valued for exactly who they are. It was a powerful testament of compassion, demonstrating how healing extends beyond physical recovery. The normalcy and encouragement radiating through this community will endure and uplift the children and their families as they navigate their lives beyond treatment.”

We are excited to announce our crowdfunding campaign for our peer support group – Shine On! Community. Childhood cancer survivors have undergone lengthy treatments to recover. However, often their battles don’t end there. Many pediatric cancer survivors (about 60%) grapple with complications after their cancer treatment that they struggle to manage, leading to many reconsider their future paths.

Our goal is to reach 2 million yen to support career development and independence initiatives within the Shine On! Community through a variety of programs (including Camp Courage).

You can find more details and make your donation HERE.

Thank you for your support!

Shine On! Connections

In June, our Shine On! Connections online program welcomed special guest Yuta Watanabe, who has played the greatest number of seasons in the NBA as a Japanese basketball player and is now thriving in Japan’s professional league. At Yuta’s request, the event was a small-group “chat session” where he could talk directly with participants who had enthusiastically researched and prepared questions in advance!

Since his first visit to a children’s ward as part of team activities soon after moving to the U.S., Mr. Watanabe has continued visiting hospitals—during league road trips in America and after returning to Japan. He also visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Children’s Medical Center, where Hospital Facility Dog Ivy works. He said he hadn’t known about Ivy’s work until recently and was surprised to learn about it.

Below are messages from participating members’ parents:

“Among all the different events out there, we were truly happy that our children could talk with someone like Mr. Watanabe. Asking questions in their own words—while thinking about the other person and the overall time for the session—was a really valuable experience.”

“Because we were able to look through Mr. Watanabe’s book beforehand, we enjoyed the online event 200%! The time flew by because it was so much fun, and I think that will become motivation to keep doing our best as we look forward to the next opportunity.”

“Taking part in this event was a truly enjoyable time. Seeing my son’s smile—there are times when I feel worn out—but we both came away energized. Thank you so much. 😊”

We received so many applications that we had to hold a lottery for children who wanted to join! The lucky participants all had a truly memorable time.

Shine On! News

Liverpool FC—who won last season’s English Premier League—returned to Japan for the first time in nearly 20 years. On Tuesday, July 29th, a fan meeting was held in Tokyo, and 36 guests were invited from three organizations, including Shine On! Kids.

The event featured four legendary players—among them Ian Rush, Liverpool’s all-time top scorer—and 18 current first-team players, including World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister. Each of them greeted attendees warmly, eagerly signing autographs and posing for photos.

When Japan national team midfielder Wataru Endo appeared, the crowd’s excitement soared. The children were so excited to meet their idol…nearly bursting with joy! And Liverpool’s official mascot Mighty Red also made an appearance, bringing smiles to both children and adults.

As if that wasn’t enough—the following day, July 30, the LFC Foundation surprised the group with tickets to the friendly match against Yokohama F. Marinos.

We extend heartfelt gratitude to Liverpool FC and the LFC Foundation for creating this incredible opportunity. For the families who attended, it became an unforgettable summer memory.

You can read the official report and see more photos on LFC Foundation’s official website.