Members of the Punahou School Intermediate Gold baseball team and their families will undertake a 10-day goodwill baseball and community service mission to Miyagi Prefecture in Japan, which was impacted by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Their trip, which begins July 24, is part of the U. S.-Japan Council’s Tomodachi (Friendship) Initiative to strengthen the Hawaii-Japan relationship by engaging youth.

A July 27 doubleheader between Punahou and a team from Ishinomaki is scheduled to be attended by John Roos, U. S. Ambassador to Japan, and Ryozo Kato, commissioner of baseball in Japan, among other dignitaries.

The 18-member team and their families will also participate in a beach cleanup of the Ishinomaki coastline and help repair fishing nets in Minamisanriku.