Red Look's Next Chapter: Online Community, Government Partnerships, and a City-Endorsed Event in Sagamihara

Part 3: What's Next for NPO Red Look

"Building a sustainable model for social impact" — online community, government partnerships, in-person events. Red Look's next chapter.

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Why Even Nonprofits Need a Business Mindset

Interviewer: So where does Red Look go from here?

Eric: Our top internal goal is to become "an organization that builds a sustainable model for social contribution." We want to establish a solid, lasting funding base, and then work alongside government, businesses, and the community to pursue our vision: a society where everyone can connect with the world in their own way.

Interviewer: Most people picture NPOs as volunteer-driven. Is funding really that critical?

Eric: Unfortunately, yes — an NPO can't survive without some business-like thinking. That's something we've heard directly from people in local government and specialists like certified SME consultants. Two and a half years of running a community taught me that without funding, you simply can't operate as an organization. NPOs are no different. Whether it's donations, subsidies, or other sources, you still ultimately have to generate revenue through your activities — just like a startup. A lot of people are surprised when they do interviews or join us: "Oh, NPOs need to think this commercially?" We hear that often.

Interviewer: That's a reality many people don't expect.

Eric: It's honestly part of why I chose the NPO route — I wanted to avoid the purely commercial side of things (laughs, somewhat ruefully). But we have to find a fee structure that's sustainable for the organization without placing a burden on the people we're trying to serve. As the leader, figuring out how to navigate that is a genuine dilemma — and genuinely difficult.

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Red Hub: An Online Community at the Center of Everything — for Rural Students and Pre-Arrival Foreigners Alike

Interviewer: Concretely, what does Red Look's path forward look like?

Eric: We're rolling out an online community called Red Hub, built around the goal of enabling anyone in the world to build an international career in a Japanese- and English-friendly environment. It's a space for Japanese people who want to thrive globally, and for foreign nationals aiming to find work in Japan or reskill for the Japanese market — and it's the hub around which everything else will grow. Students and working adults in rural areas can join from anywhere, and foreign nationals can start preparing before they even arrive in Japan. That also helps address the loneliness that can lead to early departure. As Japanese language requirements continue to rise, I believe there will be a real need for spaces where people can enjoy learning the language through natural interaction with Japanese people — and where that naturally opens doors to employment in Japan.

Interviewer: So Red Hub is the core, and everything else builds out from there.

Eric: Exactly. While we're building that foundation, we'll also be developing in-person events in Tokyo and Kanagawa. We'll be passing down the experience from our 150+ events, 1,500+ total participants, and 3-country expansion to our event-hosting staff, so that they can eventually run things independently. My job as the leader is to focus on the bigger picture.

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Bringing In Government, Businesses, and Universities — A Major Event Endorsed by Sagamihara City in September

Interviewer: So more online and offline touchpoints, growing in parallel.

Eric: Yes. First, we want to create a kind of "third place" — somewhere people can easily engage in international exchange and connect it to their careers. On the larger event front, we have a major event planned for September 6, 2026, with official endorsement from Sagamihara City, Kanagawa. It will involve local government, businesses, educational institutions (universities and junior colleges), and the general public — a genuinely large-scale gathering.

From there, we want to more deeply integrate online career support programs — like "Red Path," which launched in September last year — into our two core missions: supporting the international career development of both Japanese and foreign nationals, and driving regional revitalization from a global perspective.

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"We'll Figure It Out as We Go" — The Mission of the First Half of Year One

Interviewer: That's a lot on the plate (laughs).

Eric: We're grateful for it (laughs). Beyond that, I really do believe in figuring things out as we go. We're still only six months in as an NPO. I see this as the phase where we build recognition and earn trust — so showing up daily and accumulating results is our mission for the first half of this year. By 2027, I want to have a proper office in place and build out a more structured operation with consistent, ongoing support.

Interviewer: That's a solid vision. Thank you so much for your time — we've been speaking for nearly two hours. Thank you, Eric.

Eric: Thank you as well. I really appreciate it.

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[Part 3 Summary] Red Look has set "building a sustainable model for social contribution" as its core internal goal, with the Red Hub online community as its central axis. From there, the organization is expanding into in-person events in Tokyo and Kanagawa, and working toward a landmark city-endorsed event in Sagamihara (scheduled for September 6, 2026). Even as an NPO, building a real revenue foundation is non-negotiable — and while navigating that tension, Red Look is steadily accumulating the recognition and trust needed to realize its vision: a society where everyone, Japanese or foreign, can connect with the world in their own way.