Japan has a 17-year-old literacy ambassador. Meet Aditi Paudel, the first from the country to take on the role

Aditi Paudel, a 17-year-old high school student in Tokyo, has been appointed Japan’s first literacy ambassador by the World Literacy Foundation, The Japan Times reported on Sunday.

Paudel, who was born in Japan and spent the first half of her childhood in Nepal, is among around 900 young people aged 16 to 25 from 101 countries participating in the programme.

The appointment comes as Paudel seeks to use her own experience with reading and education to encourage young people to see literacy as more than simply the ability to read and write.

Japan's first literacy ambassador

The World Literacy Foundation, a global nonprofit headquartered in Australia, has been running its youth ambassador programme for 12 years. Paudel is the first ambassador from Japan to be appointed to the programme.

The programme aims to connect young people across countries and encourage them to promote literacy in their own communities.

Andrew Kay, CEO and founder of the World Literacy Foundation, said Paudel was selected “for her leadership, passion for literacy, and commitment to empowering young people in Japan.”

“Her curiosity about English shaped thoughtful advocacy, strengthening the program’s global voice and cultural reach,” Kay told Japan Times.

Paudel's interest in reading began when she was very young. One of her earliest memories is of her grandfather giving her a newspaper written in Devanagari script when she was still a preschooler.

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“The letters are pretty difficult to read,” Paudel recalled. Despite this, she was able to understand the text, surprising the people around her.

That experience became an important memory for Paudel and helped shape her identity as a reader.

Growing up between Japan and Nepal

Paudel returned to Japan when she entered third grade. Adjusting to life in a new country also meant learning Japanese again, making books and reading an important part of her childhood.

Her father encouraged that interest by buying her books. She developed a particular liking for fantasy and remembers becoming absorbed in Enid Blyton’s “The Wishing-Chair”, a story about a chair that can fly and grant wishes.

“It sounds funny, but the moment I read it, I would just be so immersed in it that it felt like I was the one flying. So it felt like I was really in that story, and I love having books like that where I can just transform into another world, and yeah, picture myself there,” Paudel said.

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Her own experiences have also shaped her understanding of literacy. While literacy is commonly understood as the ability to read or write, Paudel believes it can have a much broader impact.

She describes literacy as “something that helps you open doors for more opportunities,” Paudel said.

Japan, Nepal and the literacy divide

Paudel’s connection to Nepal has also influenced her focus on access to education.

Japan has a literacy rate of roughly 99%, while in Nepal, 76% of the population is literate, according to the most recent government data available.

Nepal also has a notable gender divide. The literacy rate is around 84% for men and 69% for women.

Paudel says her access to private education has made her aware of how strongly educational opportunities can shape a person's future.

“My parents grew up in a completely opposite environment. They did not have a childhood like this,” Paudel said.

“Being literate is so important because even though you have the potential, you can never unlock it if you do not have literacy,” she added.

Paudel's interest in female empowerment was further influenced by reading Malala Yousafzai’s autobiography, “I Am Malala”. The book strengthened her interest in ensuring that women around the world have access to education and literacy.

She also plans to work with children with disabilities and with the Shanti Volunteer Association to collect and donate books to Asian countries with lower rates of literacy, including Nepal.

Young people are reading fewer books

Paudel's literacy advocacy comes at a time when reading habits are changing even in countries with high literacy rates.

Around half of elementary, junior high and high school age children in Japan do not read books, according to a recent study by Benesse Educational Research & Development Institute and the University of Tokyo.

Kay said fewer young people are reading for pleasure and enjoyment, a trend he believes could have a significant regressive effect.

“As far as embedding themselves in a novel or reading something that really takes a little bit more effort, that is becoming a rarer thing,” Kay said.

He also cautioned against the impact of artificial intelligence, saying that quick answers from new technology could allow people to skip the process of researching, reading and engaging with theories and ideas themselves.

“It’s turning our clock back 150 years … where most people couldn’t read or would have limited ability to read,” Kay said of the decline of reading books as a mainstream pursuit.

'You will always be more inclined to go for your phone'

As a teenager, Paudel says she understands the challenge young people face in making time for books in a world dominated by social media and smartphones.

“You will always be more inclined to go for your phone rather than a book,” Paudel said, stressing the importance of making reading a habit.

She does not believe developing a love of reading means simply working through a list of classic books. Instead, she recommends finding something that connects with the reader and can broaden their perspective.

“Reading is such a fun thing to do. It gives you so much knowledge, it gives you a new sense of ideology, a new sense of mind,” Paudel said.