Hope 81 is a nonprofit organization based in Tokyo, Japan.  Our core group of athletes, artists and activists innovate across borders to help in three primary areas: global poverty relief, environmental sustainability and grassroots player development.

Hope 81 Sport & Leadership programs are established by our experienced Board of Directors, then carried out on the ground with additional support from a range of specialists, international advisory members, and Tokyo’s cutting-edge art/design community. With the help of local sponsors and stakeholders, Hope 81 is East Asia’s newest regional platform -- connecting sport, design and leadership for a better world.  

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Jason Hutson, Hope 81 Founder/CEO, initially launched Hope 81 with the simple wish of giving something back to his local community through what he knows best -- the game of basketball.  At the same time, he wanted to find a way of growing new lines of support for developing communities overseas -- through shared values and common interests in sport.  Originally from Portland, Oregon (USA), Jason first started playing basketball at his neighborhood street courts.  Playing with children of all different races and ethnicities, he discovered the power of sport to break down barriers very early on in his life.  Jason then moved to California and began participating in organized team sports.  From there, he discovered a sense of personal drive, focus and commitment which helped him to overcome some difficult personal trauma during his childhood. He eventually fought to become the first in his family to attend university.  In 2000, after graduating with a BA in Philosophy from UC Santa Barbara, he began working as a teacher for physically and emotionally-challenged students in Los Angeles (LBUSD).  He also volunteered his time at a local city college, teaching ESL classes for a state-sponsored refugee assistance program (LBCC). A year later, Jason moved to Japan and started on a new path toward nonprofit management.  

His international work experience in the field of education, Japanese language ability, and commitment to volunteer service earned him the honor of a Peace Fellowship award from The Rotary Foundation in 2007.  Jason conducted his research in the Graduate School of Public Administration at ICU -- one of Japan’s top international universities.  Chosen from a group of over 60 students worldwide, he was fortunate to be selected as the only Rotary World Peace Fellow from Japan amongst his class.  In 2009, Jason's thesis on 'Sport for Social Change in East Asia’ earned him a Master's degree in Peace Studies, which set the stage for Hope 81.

With nearly a decade of experience in East Asia and an ever-growing understanding for the region's social and historical contexts to draw from, Jason is excited about building a new sports-focused approach to social entrepreneurship in Japan. The level of trust shown thus far from local actors and stakeholders has been instrumental, with several new organizational members, project participants, partners and sponsors coming on board to provide various forms of assistance.  Jason believes Japan is ready to lead the way for global peace and sustainability efforts, and he looks forward to launching more groundbreaking sports-based initiatives from Tokyo in the coming years ahead.