What Peace Boat does

Peace Boat is a Tokyo-headquartered international exchange NGO (特定非営利活動法人) founded in 1983 that operates around-the-world cruise voyages as a platform for peace education, cross-cultural dialogue, and humanitarian aid. The organization runs a fleet-coordinated program of approximately three global voyages per year (Voyage 122 departed December 2025 carrying ~1,950 participants; Voyages 124–125 are scheduled through December 2026), supplemented by shorter Asia-focused itineraries such as the PEACE&GREEN BOAT Japan-Korea cruise operated jointly with Korea's Green Fund since 2005.

The core offering is experiential rather than technological: charter ship travel combined with onboard seminars, port-visit community exchanges, and structured peace-education curricula delivered through roughly 20 programs including the Global University (地球大学, 3,000+ alumni across 45 voyages since 1999), the International Student Program (bringing youth from conflict-affected regions such as Israel/Palestine, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, and South Korea), the UPA International Cooperation Project (delivering material aid to dozens of countries since 1984), the Orizuru Project with Hiroshima/Nagasaki hibakusha, the Peace Boat Disaster Volunteer Center (PBV, separately incorporated since 2011), and advocacy campaigns on nuclear abolition, Article 9, anti-nuclear power, landmines (P-MAC), conflict prevention (GPPAC), and SDGs.

Peace Boat generates revenue primarily through cruise participation fees paid by individual participants, supplemented by donations and scholarship funds such as the Kawai Hiroyuki International Exchange Fund that subsidizes youth participants; specific pricing is not publicly disclosed. The organization employs approximately 88 staff across two physical offices (Tokyo Shinjuku headquarters and Osaka) and distributes programs directly through its own digital properties (peaceboat.org and pbcruise.jp), a brochure mail-fulfillment channel, and referral partnerships with universities and NGOs. It is co-led by Tatsuya Yoshioka and operates as an independent nonprofit with no disclosed parent company, private equity, or venture capital backing.

Name

Peace Boat

Legal name

ピースボール (Peace Boat)

Website

https://peaceboat.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Peace Boat is a Tokyo-based international exchange NGO, founded in 1983, that operates global cruise voyages as a platform for peace education, cross-cultural youth dialogue, and humanitarian aid delivery across 45+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Exchange Cruise Services

NAICS

Deep Sea Passenger Transportation (483112)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Destination-Intensive Ocean Cruise Lines (THAEAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Educational Cruises & Shipboard Learning Programs (THAKAGAM)

Keywords

• International exchange cruises
• Peace education programs
• Humanitarian aid delivery
• Nuclear abolition advocacy
• Disaster relief services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Cruise participation fees: Peace Boat generates revenue primarily through fees charged to participants for joining its global cruise voyages. Participants pay to board multi-week to multi-month itineraries that include port visits, educational programs, volunteer activities, and cultural exchanges. Specific pricing is not publicly disclosed; prospective participants request brochures for detailed information. The cruises are coordinated with partner travel agencies (ジャパングレース as sponsor/operator), and scholarship programs (e.g., Kawai Fund Youth Empowerment Cruise) partially subsidize youth participants.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Peace Boat operates chartered cruise ship voyages that circumnavigate the globe (e.g., Voyage122, Voyage125), combining port visits with onboard peace education, cross-cultural exchange, and humanitarian aid delivery. Its core product is participation in these multi-week to multi-month voyages — sold via the peaceboat.org website and pbcruise.jp cruise portal — with participants paying fees to board, supplemented by youth/student programs, scholarships, and international cooperation projects.

Product overview

Peace Boat is an international exchange NGO that operates a fleet of cruise ships offering global voyages as its core product. The organization offers approximately 20 interconnected programs including the main Earth Circumavigation Voyages, educational programs (Global University, International Student Program), humanitarian aid projects (UPA International Cooperation, Disaster Volunteer Center), peace advocacy campaigns (Nuclear Abolition, Global Article 9, Anti-Nuclear, Conflict Prevention GPPAC), social initiatives (SDGs Campaign, Palestine/Middle East), environmental projects (Ocean Upcycle, Galapagos Forest Regeneration), cultural programs (Peace Ball Project, Children's House, Global School), and specialized cruises (PEACE&GREEN BOAT with Korea, Essay Award). These programs collectively enable face-to-face international exchange while advancing peace, disarmament, humanitarian relief, and sustainable development goals worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Peace Boat Earth Circumnavigation Voyages (ピースボート地球一周の船旅) International exchange cruises that circumnavigate the globe, visiting ports worldwide to promote peace, cultural exchange, and understanding through face-to-face interactions. Each voyage carries approximately 1,950 participants (e.g., Voyage122, Dec 2025).
• Peace Boat Global University (ピースボート地球大学) Global education and peace education program utilizing earth circumnavigation voyages, combining port visits with onboard seminars to develop global perspectives. Over 3,000 participants have graduated across 45 cruise programs (as of Jan 2019).
• UPA International Cooperation Project (UPA国際協力プロジェクト) Aid program delivering supplies worldwide (school supplies, sports equipment, medical supplies, wheelchairs, ambulances), connecting people through 'visible support' and promoting self-reliance in beneficiary communities across dozens of countries.
• Origami Crane Project / Orizuru Project (おりづるプロジェクト) Project traveling worldwide with hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) from Hiroshima and Nagasaki to spread nuclear abolition messages and share testimonies of the atomic bombings.
• Nuclear Abolition Campaign (核廃絶キャンペーン) Campaign advocating for all nations to join the Nuclear Weapon Prohibition Treaty (TPNW), operating as part of ICAN's international coalition since the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.
• International Student Program (インターナショナル・スチューデント) Program inviting young people from various countries (including conflict-affected regions) to participate in shipboard programs themed around conflict, poverty, and the environment to cultivate 'global citizens'.
• PEACE&GREEN BOAT Japan-Korea joint cruise program co-organized with Korean environmental foundation 'Green Fund' (環境財団), promoting peace and a sustainable Asian future since 2005.
• Peace Boat Disaster Volunteer Center (PBV) (ピースボート災害ボランティアセンター) Emergency disaster relief operations in Japan and abroad, promoting disaster prevention and sharing lessons from nuclear accidents. Operates separately from a base in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.
• Global Article 9 Campaign (グローバル9条キャンペーン) Campaign promoting awareness of Japan's Constitution Article 9 (renouncing war) to people worldwide.
• Conflict Prevention / GPPAC (紛争予防) International advocacy and policy recommendation activities for conflict prevention and peacebuilding across global networks through the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC).
• Anti-Nuclear Power Campaign (脱・原発) Network building domestically and internationally to create sustainable societies, leveraging lessons from the Fukushima nuclear accident.
• Landmine Abolition Campaign (P-MAC) (地雷廃絶キャンペーン) Campaign supporting landmine removal activities and social rehabilitation of victims who continue to be harmed worldwide even after conflicts end.
• Palestine / Middle East Project (パレスチナ・中東) Project supporting and conducting activities from the perspective of people living in the Middle East, including support for Gaza emergency relief.
• Ocean Upcycle Project (オーシャン・アップサイクル・プロジェクト) Project collecting plastic waste and upcycling it into new products to protect future oceans through small action chains.
• Galapagos Forest Regeneration Project (ガラパゴスの森再生プロジェクト) Project planting endemic species to regenerate forests and protect the Galapagos' natural environment facing crisis.
• Peace Boat Children's House (ピースボート子どもの家) Montessori-style floating kindergarten 'Peace Boat Kodomonoie' providing parent-child learning experiences during world voyages.
• Peace Boat Global School (ピースボートグローバルスクール) New format of floating free school allowing students to experience 'human diversity' while learning aboard ship.
• Fukushima Children Project (福島子どもプロジェクト) Support program for children affected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, continuing with dreams and health support.
• Peace Ball Project (ピースボールプロジェクト) International cooperation project delivering soccer balls worldwide to foster cultural exchange.
• Travel and Peace Essay Award (「旅と平和」エッセイ大賞) Essay competition encouraging youth to think about peace through travel, with grand prize of a free world cruise ticket.
• SDGs Campaign (SDGs キャンペーン) Campaign working toward UN Sustainable Development Goals across poverty, environment, and peace themes through various activities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000+ participants have graduated from the Global University program across 45 cruise programs (as of Jan 2019).
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ICAN (核兵器廃絶国際キャンペーン)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Peace Boat is a founding member of ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017. Peace Boat participates in ICAN's international campaigns, workshops, and advocacy for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (核兵器禁止条約). Staff member Akira Kawasaki serves on ICAN's international steering group.
• Korea Environmental Foundation (韓国環境財団)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005The Korea Environmental Foundation is a South Korean NPO that financially supports environmental groups and activists, and co-organizes the annual PEACE&GREEN BOAT joint Japan-Korea cruise program with Peace Boat. The partnership began in 2005 and has produced multiple editions (2005–2017+), fostering citizen-level exchange between Japan and Korea through shared voyages around East Asia.
• Tübingen University (チュービンゲン大学)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeace Boat has partnered regularly with Tübingen University's peace studies and international politics graduate program since 2005. Students participate in the International Student program, presenting on topics such as 'coming to terms with the past' (ナチス・過去の清算). The university awards academic credit for the voyage-based coursework.
• Palestinian Vision (パレスチナビジョン)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPalestinian Vision is a Palestinian NGO through which Peace Boat coordinates its Palestine/Middle East programs, including the reception of speakers from Gaza/Palestine and cooperation on peace events.
• Baltic University Programme (BUP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBUP is a regional network of universities focused on sustainable development and democratic governance in the Baltic Sea region. Peace Boat collaborates with BUP on programs related to environmental and peace education.
• SungKongHoe University, South Korea (韓国・聖公会大学)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSungKongHoe University in South Korea partners with Peace Boat for the International Student program, sending Korean students to participate in voyages and contributing to East Asian peace and reconciliation dialogue.
• Youth Information Agency (OIA), Bosnia-Herzegovina (ボスニア・ヘルツェゴビナ青年情報局)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOIA Bosnia-Herzegovina partners with Peace Boat's International Student program, facilitating the participation of youth from post-conflict regions such as Bosnia to engage in peace education aboard Peace Boat voyages.
• Weeramantry International Centre for Peace (WICPER), Sri Lanka (ウィラマントリー国際平和教育研究センター)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWICPER is a Sri Lanka-based international peace education research center. Peace Boat collaborates with WICPER on peace education curriculum and the International Student program, drawing on Sri Lanka's experience with post-conflict reconciliation.
• Sri Lanka Unites (スリランカ・ユナイツ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSri Lanka Unites is a youth-led reconciliation movement in Sri Lanka. Peace Boat partners with Sri Lanka Unites for the International Student program, facilitating participation of Sri Lankan youth in post-civil-war dialogue programs aboard Peace Boat.
• Friends of the Earth InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFriends of the Earth International is a global environmental federation. Peace Boat works with Friends of the Earth on environmental campaigns including the PEACE&GREEN BOAT program and sustainability-themed voyages.
• GPPAC (Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGPPAC is a worldwide network of NGOs working on conflict prevention and peacebuilding. Peace Boat participates in GPPAC's international advocacy and policy recommendation activities, contributing its perspective on East Asian security and disarmament issues.
• Peace Boat Disaster Volunteer Center (ピースボット災害ボランティアセンター / PBV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPBV is a separately registered disaster relief organization (pbv.or.jp) established by Peace Boat following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. PBV conducts emergency response, volunteer coordination, and long-term recovery support, operating from Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. Peace Boat coordinates support for PBV's activities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Mercy Ships: Operates hospital ships delivering free medical care and humanitarian aid in port cities across Africa and developing regions. Comparable to Peace Boat's UPA International Cooperation Project in using a ship as a platform for face-to-face humanitarian delivery.
• Up with People: Long-running global education and cultural exchange program for young adults focused on international understanding, similar to Peace Boat's International Student Program. Comparable audience (youth) and mission (peace/cultural exchange).
• Semester at Sea (Institute for Shipboard Education): Operates university credit-bearing voyages around the world on a chartered ship, combining academic study with international port visits. Directly comparable to Peace Boat's Global University program in combining ship-based travel with structured education for youth.

Others

• ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons): Coalition of NGOs working to abolish nuclear weapons, of which Peace Boat is a founding member. Comparable in advocacy mission and partner network, but doesn't operate ships or run educational cruises.
• Peace Direct: Global peacebuilding NGO supporting local peacebuilders in conflict-affected regions. Comparable to Peace Boat in mission and overlap with conflict zones (Palestine, Sri Lanka, Bosnia), but operates on land rather than via ship.

Emerging players

• Quark Expeditions: Polar expedition cruise operator with strong educational content. Comparable to Peace Boat's destination-intensive, education-tinged small-ship cruises but focused on polar regions and commercial pricing.

Regional players

• Japanese Red Cross Society: Major Japanese humanitarian organization with international relief programs comparable to Peace Boat's UPA and disaster relief activities. Operates in many of the same recipient countries but is a much larger, more diversified institution.
• World Visions Japan (ワールド・ビジョン・ジャパン): Japanese humanitarian NGO delivering child sponsorship and aid programs comparable to Peace Boat's UPA project. Same Japanese donor base and participant pool, but land-based operations.

Broad incumbents

• Lindblad Expeditions (National Geographic): Operates expedition cruises marketed under National Geographic brand with structured educational content. Comparable to Peace Boat in destination-intensive, education-focused small-ship cruising, but at a premium commercial price point.
• Hurtigruten Expeditions: Norwegian-based expedition cruise line with sustainability focus, comparable to Peace Boat's destination-intensive, environmentally-themed voyages (Ocean Upcycle, Galapagos). Not focused on education but overlapping geography and purpose-driven positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/peaceboatvoyage
• Instagraminstagram.com/peaceboat.jp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/peace-boat

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Peace Boat