The Japan in a Suitcase program opens up Lisa Yamaguchi's third-graders to a better understanding of the world they live in.

"With this exposure, (students) get a better perspective, a better picture of how different and yet how similar they are to people around the world," said Ya-maguchi, who invites the program's organizers, the Japan-America Society of Hawai'i, into her classroom at August Ahrens Elementary School in Waipahu.

"What's really good — when you think about prejudice — is that (students) really learn to have tolerance and open-mindedness," she said.

Over the past three years, thousands of students across the Islands have taken part in the Japan in a Suitcase program, which aims to expose elementary school children to "a different way of viewing the world," said Earl Okawa, director of the society.

The suitcase is packed with items collected from Japan, ranging from school supplies to clothes, that students can touch and try on. The students also are presented with photos — such as cars on a highway — from Hawai'i and Japan to allow students to draw comparisons. Pupils also learn to mimic the barking of a dog, a cat's meow and a rooster's crow in Japanese and Korean.

The program is one of six the society offers in its Continuum of School Programs Project, which stresses developing future leaders and global citizens. The continuum begins in the early grades with Japan in a Suitcase and continues all the way into the high school years with the annual Japan Wizards competition, which quizzes students on knowledge of Japan and rewards the winners with a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun.

"We need to nurture our children's thinking skills early and continue to help those skills develop," Okawa said about the continuum.

The Japan-America Society's main goal is to foster understanding and tolerance between people of both cultures, Okawa said. He hopes that by participating in these programs, students will become more open-minded and "less prone to prejudice and biases."

"The Japan in a Suitcase program is a good way to allow students to see differences and to nurture their skills of inquiry," he said. The students see that while the Japanese do things a different way, there is no right or wrong in that, Okawa said.

Darlene Okada, a Japanese language teacher at Kapolei High School, coached three students to victory at this year's Japan Wizard competition — designed to teach high school students lifelong skills tied to teamwork, conducting research, personal responsibility and handling pressure.

Michelle Hosaka, a member of the Kapolei team, said contestants were quizzed on an extensive range of topics, including culture, government, history and beliefs. Teams from five schools — Kapolei High School, King Kekaulike High School on Maui, Sacred Hearts Academy, Saint Louis School and Saint Francis School — were awarded trips to Japan this summer.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.