The U.S.-Japan Network for the Future program convened its seventh Japan Study Trip in early June. Fourteen cohort members spent one week in Tokyo, Kumamoto, and Fukuoka engaging in discussions with a range of Japanese policymakers and opinion makers and exploring the future of U.S.-Japan relations.
The U.S.-Japan Network for the Future program, jointly organized by The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation and the Japan Foundation, seeks to support the next generations of public policy intellectuals working within the fields of Japan studies and/or policy issues pertinent to U.S.-Japan relations that lay the groundwork for a stable and prosperous world, a necessary component in solving the problems of the future.
Advisory Committee member Susan Pharr delivers remarks at a welcoming reception hosted by the Japan Foundation on June 10.
Programming during the study tour included meetings with Japanese government officials at the national and local level, academic institutions, NGOs, research institutions, civil society actors, and the private sector. Discussions covered a wide range of topics including the state of the U.S.-Japan Alliance and diplomacy, demographic challenges and potential solutions, U.S.-Japan trade, the Japanese startup sector, and public-private partnerships in space policy.
The group visited Tokyo Vice Governor Akiko Matsumoto to discuss the priorities for urban development and agricultural policy.
While in Kyushu, the group visited Kumamoto University for a discussion on the region’s semiconductor industry and also met with prefectural officials, including Governor Takashi Kimura, to learn about the local government’s efforts to attract Taiwanese investment to the region and bolster its local economy. A surprise visit from local icon and mascot, Kumamon, was a fun highlight. On the last day of the program, participants traveled to Hitoyoshi for field research on areas affected by heavy flooding in 2020.
The cohort will reconvene in June 2026 for a public symposium introducing their research, highlighting how this program helped expand their understanding of U.S.-Japan relations, and introducing the next cohort to follow them.
Learn more about this cohort’s participants and about the program.