Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Thomas S. Foley Legislative Exchange

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The Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Thomas S. Foley Legislative Exchange (Foley Exchange) is public-private partnership between the JUSFC and the Mansfield Foundation, which merges three pre-existing legislative exchange programs: the Thomas S. Foley Legislative Exchange, the U.S.-Japan Legislative Exchange Program (LEP) and the U.S.-Japan-South Korea Trilateral Legislative Exchange Program (TLEP).

Program Background

The Thomas S. Foley Legislative Exchange program was established in 2014 to honor the late Ambassador Thomas S. Foley, known for his long commitment to public service and his leadership in strengthening U.S.-Japan relations as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1965-1995), 57th Speaker of the House (1989-1995), and ambassador of the United States to Japan (1997-2001). Ambassador Foley believed in the importance of dialogue and regular exchanges between elected officials from the United States and Japan.

From 1989 to 2015, with funding from the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, the George Washington University Elliott School of International Studies organized the U.S.-Japan Legislative Exchange Program (LEP). This longstanding initiative brought together more than 300 members of the U.S. Congress and members of Japan’s National Diet on a semi-annual basis for in-depth and informal discussions. The exchanges covered a broad range of political, economic, and security issues affecting U.S.-Japan relations. The LEP was later expanded to include South Korean National Assembly members (Trilateral LEP).

In 2016 these important programs were merged together under a vibrant public-private partnership between the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission and the Mansfield Foundation, resulting in the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Thomas S. Foley Legislative Exchange. Funding for the program is provided by the JUSFC, the Mansfield Foundation, the Japan Economic Foundation (JEF), and the Korean National Assembly Parliamentary Office.

Program Structure

Each year since the spring of 2016, the Mansfield Foundation has organized two Foley exchange meetings, including a spring meeting in Washington, D.C. and a winter meeting in Asia. The Spring meeting welcomes legislators from Japan and Korea (roughly eight and four, respectively) to Washington, D.C. Participants meet with their counterparts in the U.S. Congress as well as with representatives from the executive branch, the policy community, and the private sector. The winter meeting brings U.S. members of Congress (between two and five each year) to Tokyo (and, on alternating years, also Seoul) to interact with their counterparts in Japan and Korea. The exchange offers participants a unique opportunity for frank interactions with their counterparts as well as with each other.

Program Objectives

The objectives of the Foley Exchange are to:

♦ Build lasting relationships among U.S., Japanese, and Korean elected officials and policy experts, with a primary emphasis on the U.S.- Japan bilateral relationship

♦ Help cultivate a “next generation” of U.S.-Asia leadership among legislators from the United States, Japan, and Korea

♦ Contribute to the participants’ understanding of policymaking processes and practices in each other’s countries

♦ Explore opportunities for cooperation on issues of mutual interest

Program Updates