Archive · 4 Sep 2026
Aditi Paudel Named Japan’s First Literacy Ambassador
Aditi Paudel is a 17-year-old student in Tokyo.
She was chosen as Japan’s first literacy ambassador for the World Literacy Foundation.
Her job is to encourage young people to read and learn.
The foundation’s programme includes young ambassadors from many countries.
Aditi was born in Japan and spent part of her childhood in Nepal.
When she returned to Japan, she had to learn Japanese again.
She began enjoying reading after trying to understand a newspaper with her grandfather.
Books such as The Wishing-Chair and I Am Malala influenced her.
She believes literacy can help people find more opportunities, especially girls and children who face barriers to education.
Seventeen-year-old high school senior Aditi Paudel became Japan’s first World Literacy Foundation literacy ambassador.
She joined a youth programme with about 900 participants aged 16 to 25 from 101 countries.
Born in Japan and raised partly in Nepal, Paudel relearned Japanese after returning to Tokyo in third grade.
Her interest in reading began with a Devanagari newspaper her grandfather gave her as a preschooler.
Inspired by I Am Malala, she plans to promote reading, girls’ education, disability inclusion and equal opportunities.
- Who
- Aditi Paudel, a 17-year-old Tokyo high school senior, and the World Literacy Foundation.
- What
- Paudel was appointed Japan’s first literacy ambassador in the foundation’s Youth Ambassador Programme.
- When
- The appointment is described as occurring while Paudel is 17; the articles do not give an exact date.
- Where
- Tokyo, Japan, through a programme connecting young people internationally.
- Why
- She was selected for her leadership, passion for literacy and commitment to empowering young people; she aims to promote reading, education and equal opportunities.
- Ambassador
- Aditi Paudel
- Age
- 17
- Programme
- World Literacy Foundation Youth Ambassador Programme
- Programme scale
- About 900 participants aged 16 to 25 from 101 countries
- Japan literacy rate
- Roughly 99%, according to the article
- Nepal literacy rate
- About 76%; approximately 84% for men and 69% for women, according to the article
- Reading trend
- Around half of elementary, junior high and high school-age children in Japan do not read books, according to a cited study
- Planned focus
- Reading, girls’ education, women’s empowerment, disability inclusion and book donations
