Small Kindness Movement Start Day

What Is Small Kindness Movement Start Day?

Every June 13th is "Small Kindness Movement Start Day" (小さな親切運動スタートの日, Chiisana Shinsetsu Undō Sutāto no Hi) in Japan. On June 13, 1963, the "Small Kindness Movement" (小さな親切運動) was formally launched in Japan. The movement began with a speech by Tōhoku University President Kaneshige Tōmonori at that year's graduation ceremony, urging graduates to practice small acts of everyday kindness — to embody civic consideration in daily life. The phrase "small kindness" (小さな親切) became a touchstone of postwar Japanese civil society.

The Origin of the Movement

The graduation speech that launched the movement posed a simple but profound question: in a society rapidly becoming more affluent and busy, were people becoming less considerate of one another? Kaneshige called on graduates to counter this tendency through small, deliberate acts of kindness — helping a stranger with luggage, giving up a seat on a bus, picking up litter — not as grand gestures but as the fabric of a considerate society woven thread by thread. The speech resonated deeply in 1960s Japan and led to the formation of a national civic organization.

A Nationwide Network

The Small Kindness Movement grew into a national organization with chapters in every prefecture, promoting acts of everyday consideration and civic responsibility through school programs, community events, and awards for exemplary acts of kindness. The movement's annual "Small Kindness Awards" (小さな親切実行章) recognize individuals and groups who have demonstrated outstanding consideration for others in their daily lives.

Kindness in Japanese Culture

The concept of consideration for others (思いやり, omoiyari) is deeply embedded in Japanese culture — expressed in the careful wrapping of gifts, the apology for inconvenience (ご迷惑をおかけして申し訳ありません), and the principle of not troubling others (迷惑をかけない, meiwaku wo kakenai). The Small Kindness Movement sought to make these cultural values explicit and active rather than merely implicit — to encourage people to look for opportunities to help rather than simply to avoid causing harm.

Fun Facts

• Priority seating: Japan's "priority seats" (優先席, yūsen seki) on trains and buses — reserved for elderly, disabled, pregnant, and injured passengers — are a tangible expression of the Small Kindness philosophy built into public transportation design.
• Lost and found: Japan's extraordinarily high rate of lost property being returned — wallets, phones, and bags are routinely returned to their owners through police lost-and-found offices — is often cited as evidence of the deep social norm of consideration for others that the Small Kindness Movement sought to cultivate.