From February 19-25, 2023, a bipartisan delegation of U.S. Members of Congress participated in a week-long program in Japan and South Korea to hold the JUSFC Thomas S. Foley Legislative Exchange.
The delegation visited Tokyo, Fukushima, and Seoul to discuss energy, trade, infrastructure, trilateral relations, and regional security. The Congressional Representatives met with legislators and policy experts from government, civil society, and business from these important U.S. allies.
The U.S. delegation was led by co-chairs Representatives French Hill (R-AR) and Mark Takano (D-CA), and joined by Representatives Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Maxwell Frost (D-FL).
The Members of Congress met with Japanese Diet Members in Tokyo, and later traveled to Seoul to hold a trilateral legislative exchange with Japanese Diet Members and Korean National Assembly Members.
On Tuesday, February 21, the delegation made a trip to Fukushima with Japanese Diet Members. Destinations included the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and Ukedo Elementary School in Namie Town. Ukedo is known as a “miracle school,” which experienced no loss of life during the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011.
On Friday, February 24, the U.S. Representatives paid a visit to U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, the nation’s largest overseas military base, located outside of Seoul. The delegation received a briefing on military considerations on the Korean Peninsula and met with members of the U.S. armed forces and their families.
As an ongoing exchange program, the Thomas S. Foley Exchange carries a 34-year legacy of frank interactions among legislators from the three countries to explore areas of mutual interest.
Support for the program is provided by the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (an independent U.S. federal agency) and the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, with in-kind support from the Japan Economic Foundation and cooperation from the Korean National Assembly Parliamentary Office.