Bringing smiles to children in Ukraine
"Usmishka" means "smile" in Ukrainian. Led by Hideto "Pika" Chujo on the ground in Ukraine, we support children and women affected by the war and promote exchange between Japan and Ukraine.
ウクライナの子供たちに笑顔を届けたい
"Usmishka" means "smile" in Ukrainian. Led by Hideto "Pika" Chujo on the ground in Ukraine, we support children and women affected by the war and promote exchange between Japan and Ukraine.
ウクライナの子供たちに笑顔を届けたい
We support children traumatized by the war and children suffering from serious illness — visiting pediatric hospitals, holding events at evacuation shelters, and delivering gifts to bring back their smiles.
We deliver relief supplies and help secure housing. In 2025–2026, evacuating residents from dangerous areas has become our main activity. We also provided emergency power after the Kakhovka dam collapse, co-operate a shelter prioritizing people with disabilities, and deliver firewood each winter.
We share Japanese culture — sumo, kendama, origami, and music — with the people of Ukraine, including inviting young Ukrainian sumo wrestlers to Japan's national Wanpaku Sumo tournament.
We strengthen people-to-people ties between Japan and Ukraine and contribute to Ukraine's recovery, operating the "Usmishka" Japan Center at Dnipro National University and building partnerships between universities, municipalities, and organizations.
Since 2023 we have held the Wanpaku Sumo Ukraine tournament every year. Even interrupted by air-raid sirens, the children give their all in the ring — and the winners are invited to the national Wanpaku Sumo tournament in Japan.
"I want to win on the dream stage in Japan and dedicate the victory to my father serving in the army." Your support makes dreams like this come true. The tournaments have been widely covered by Ukrainian media including public broadcaster Suspilne and ICTV.
About the invitation project (JP)Evacuating residents from dangerous areas — work we have continued since the Kakhovka dam was destroyed in 2023 — has become our main activity in 2025–2026. Alongside the evacuation runs themselves, we supply fuel for the evacuation vehicles and cover their repair costs.
"Real heroes don't wear capes — sometimes they wear a Pikachu costume and have an endlessly kind heart."
—— from the Ukrainian humanitarian aid team we work alongside
Their post honoring Hideto Chujo — who fuels their vehicles, joins the evacuation runs and supports children — drew over 1,000 likes and many messages of thanks from people across Ukraine. See the post on Instagram.
Hideto Chujo entered Ukraine alone, beginning support caravans to evacuation shelters in Lviv, Bucha, Kyiv, Dnipro, Uzhhorod and beyond. His yellow Pikachu hoodie brought smiles back to children's faces.
Established to sustain support from Japan. Published the on-the-ground report "Walking Through Wartime Ukraine", featured in the Asahi Shimbun and other media.
Using your donations, delivered winter goods, portable lights and power, solar panels and toys by truck across the country. Covered by NHK and local press; full accounts published.
Ukraine celebrates Christmas twice — Gregorian and Julian. Visited shelters, hospitals and families of children with disabilities in Kherson, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Kharkiv as Santa, with events at Kyiv's largest pediatric hospital and an art museum in Dnipro.
Usmishka's work was aired across Ukraine by the national broadcaster and reported in Poland. Began building "Usmishka House", a learning and play space at a shelter in Dnipro.
Co-hosted a children's sumo tournament with Ukraine's Ministry of Sport — the first of its kind, covered by Ukrainian news.
Distributed portable generators in Kherson from day one, plus 100 power banks and 10 power stations purchased with donations, working alongside officials of the city military administration. Received official invitations and letters of gratitude from the city and oblast; covered by US press.
Tournament champions Mykola (Mykolaiv) and Makar (Rivne) were invited to the national Wanpaku Sumo tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on July 30.
Left Haneda for Ukraine again, continuing Caravan #3 near the front lines — with every yen publicly accounted for.
Roman Mrochko, Head of the Kherson City Military Administration, presented the award "for a significant personal contribution to volunteer assistance for residents of the Kherson city territorial community affected by the blowing up of the Kakhovka HPP dam". He has continued supporting the people of Kherson since leaving office. We currently work in Kherson in coordination with the Deputy Governor. See the post.
Held March 8 at the Olympic Reserve Stadium in Dnipro — from building the ring to the awards ceremony — and covered nationwide by Suspilne, ICTV and live TV.
Responded to requests from Zaporizhzhia authorities and fellow aid workers, travelling to areas damaged by Russian shelling and flooding; also helped repair damaged homes near the Dnipro hydroelectric plant, which is located in the city of Zaporizhzhia.
Egor (Mykolaiv) and two others competed at Ryogoku Kokugikan. Emergency donations supported Kyiv's Okhmatdyt children's hospital after it was struck in July.
Awarded for humanitarian work in the region. The governor was later appointed to lead the city administration of Odesa. See the post.
Ran the Usmishka Health Project with dentists — cavity treatment, oral care and brushing lessons for children unable to evacuate far.
After signing a memorandum of understanding with Oles Honchar Dnipro National University on July 25 (article), the Ukrainian-Japanese Center opened on campus on October 27 (article). Working with the Ukraine-Japan Center in Kyiv, it offers Japanese language classes, calligraphy lessons and other cultural programs.
Winners of the 3rd Ukraine Children's Sumo Usmishka National Tournament were selected for Japan's Hakuho Cup; Makar returned to Japan for a second time.
Evacuations from dangerous areas, continued since the 2023 Kakhovka dam collapse, became our central work in 2025–2026 — including fuel and vehicle-repair support for evacuation transport. See the post.
Each winter, when electricity and heating are unstable, we deliver firewood to villages in rural areas. See the post.
Awarded for our humanitarian work by Minister Denys Uliutin of the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity, who also heads the government's humanitarian support team. See the post.
Working with the Ukrainian Sumo Federation, completed a national tournament for children and students despite air-raid interruptions. Regular visits to Okhmatdyt children's hospital continue, including making good-luck badges with children before surgery.
Fighting still continues in the east and south. Supply runs, hospital visits, cultural exchange — under one motto: "May every child live a happy childhood."
Selected moments from our activity reports on X @ChujoPika. Click a photo to enlarge and view the original post.
In today's Ukraine, supplies exist "where they exist" — what relief really needs is information and operating funds. With your donations we purchase supplies locally, and Hideto Chujo delivers them directly to children in Ukraine.
To show that every yen reaches the children, we publish a full breakdown of how donations are spent. Donations start from 3,000 JPY.
By registered mail: Usmishka Association, 2246 Mure, Mure-cho, Takamatsu, Kagawa 761-0196, Japan.
Donations are made to a non-profit general incorporated association and handled under our donation rules (JP).
We publicly report how every caravan's donations were spent. (Amounts in JPY.)
| Donations | 4,019,000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Distributed goods | 2,361,068 | gifts for children, batteries/power, event supplies |
| Outsourcing | 1,319,154 | dental care instruction by dentists, etc. |
| Travel | 123,570 | local transport in Ukraine |
| Fees | 147,539 | crowdfunding fees, etc. |
| Fuel | 342,828 | |
| Total expenses | 4,294,159 | |
| Balance | −275,159 | covered by remainders of past caravans |
| Donations | 16,839,952 |
|---|---|
| Distributed goods | 11,930,393 |
| Event production | 1,732,013 |
| Travel | 90,388 |
| Consumables | 36,276 |
| Fees | 668,622 |
| Fuel | 1,140,324 |
| Total expenses | 15,598,016 |
| Remainder | 1,241,936 |
Kyiv Children's Hospital support (July 2024): donations 475,000 / distributed goods 1,218,053 / fees 19,580 / total expenses 1,237,633 / balance −762,633 (covered by Caravan #4 and past project remainders).
| Donations | 13,506,954 |
|---|---|
| Distributed goods | 12,272,672 |
| Travel | 265,757 |
| Fees | 157,520 |
| Fuel | 139,792 |
| Exchange loss | 72,367 |
| Total expenses | 12,908,108 |
| Remainder | 598,846 |
Includes emergency relief after the 2023 Kakhovka dam collapse (Dnipro, Bakhmut, Kherson and other areas in the east and south).
| Donations (carried over from #1) | 218,909 |
|---|---|
| Donations (#2) | 433,000 |
| Income subtotal | 651,909 |
| Distributed goods | 445,781 |
| PayPal fees | 19,458 |
| Consumables | 19,213 |
| Fuel | 74,008 |
| Transport | 2,001 |
| Expense subtotal | 560,461 |
| Carried over | 91,448 |
| Donations | 1,687,000 |
|---|---|
| PayPal fees | 70,327 |
| Distributed goods | 1,175,693 |
| Consumables | 88,583 |
| Fuel | 82,623 |
| Transport | 51,065 |
| Expense subtotal | 1,468,291 |
| Carried over | 218,909 |
"May every child live a happy childhood." Near-daily reports from the ground in Ukraine. Japan representative to the Volunteer Council of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration / head of the Ukrainian-Japanese Center "Usmishka" at Dnipro National University / co-operator of a shelter prioritizing people with disabilities.
Follow @ChujoPikaWe want to provide support from the ground-level perspective that governments and international organizations find difficult. Saving children deprived of a safe living environment by war and violence requires not only systems and care, but face-to-face relationships. Cultural exchange also encourages children emotionally and helps their potential grow. We support Hideto Chujo's work on the ground and use ICT to deliver support from Japan to the children of Ukraine. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. — Nagaaki Kamada, Chairman
| Name | Usmishka Association (general incorporated association) |
|---|---|
| Address | 2246 Mure, Mure-cho, Takamatsu, Kagawa 761-0196, Japan |
| info@usmishka.jp | |
| Chairman | Nagaaki Kamada President of Kamacho Scale Co., Ltd. / 2019 President of JCI Japan |
| Directors | Hideto Chujo (JCI Senator / Advisor to JCI Ukraine / G20 YEA Japan Act President) Marii Kitamura (2023 JCI Vice President) |
| Auditor | Takafumi Kojima (2021 JCI President) |