United States Japan Foundation

PURPOSE: IN THE SPRING OF 2023, BEYOND TOMORROW WILL BRING EIGHT YOUTH WITH SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHALLENGES TO HAWAII FOR A GLOBAL EXPERIENCE. THE PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE YOUTH FROM DISADVANTAGED BACKGROUNDS WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY, LEARN ABOUT AMERICAN SOCIETY, JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS, AND THE PACIFIC WAR FROM THE AMERICAN SIDE, BROADEN THEIR PERSPECTIVES, AND THINK ABOUT THEIR FUTURE CAREERS.

PURPOSE: KIZUNA ACROSS CULTURES (KAC) IMPLEMENTS THE FOLLOWING TWO PROJECTS: 1) THE GLOBAL CLASSMATES PROGRAM, OUR VIRTUAL BILINGUAL EXCHANGE FOR YOUTH IN THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN, WHICH WILL BE IMPLEMENTED FROM SEPTEMBER 2023 TO FEBRUARY 2024 2) TWO VIRTUAL CAREER EVENTS FOR GLOBAL CLASSMATES COMMUNITY THAT SERVES OUR PROGRAM ALUMNI AND OTHER ASPIRING YOUTH WHO SEEK TO ENRICH THEIR CAREERS THROUGH U.S.-JAPAN OPPORTUNITIES. THROUGH SERVING A TOTAL OF 76 HIGH SCHOOLS (38 FROM THE U.S. AND 38 FROM JAPAN) WITH AN ESTIMATED 2,000 PARTICIPANTS, GLOBAL CLASSMATES WILL CONTINUOUSLY EXPAND THE HORIZONS OF U.S.-JAPAN RELATIONS BY BRINGING A VAST NUMBER OF DIVERSE YOUTH ACROSS BOTH COUNTRIES TO THE STARTING POINT OF THEIR ENGAGEMENT WITH U.S.-JAPAN RELATIONS. IN ADDITION, THE VIRTUAL CAREER PANEL EVENTS OFFERED TO GLOBAL CLASSMATES (ALUMNI) COMMUNITY WILL FURTHER ENGAGE HIGH-POTENTIAL YOUTH AS FUTURE LEADERS OF U.S.-JAPAN RELATIONS.

PURPOSE: SUPPORTING SINGLE MOTHERS AND CHILDREN IN KESENNUMA, HARD-HIT AREAS. NEW IT EMPOWERMENT MODEL TO DISRUPT THE CYCLE OF POVERTY AFFECTED BY TSUNAMI AND COVID-19. THROUGH BOTH BOTTOM-UP AND TOP-DOWN APPROACHES TO CHILDREN, SCHOOLS, THE MUNICIPALITY, AND THE COMMUNITY, HSF WILL CREATE A SYSTEM THAT WILL INCREASE CHILDREN'S SELF-ESTEEM AND ENABLE THEM TO LEAD THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES IN A RURAL AREA THAT WAS SEVERELY AFFECTED BY TSUNAMI, WHERE POVERTY RATES ARE HIGH AND CHILDREN FACE MANY CHALLENGES. AS THE BOTTOM-UP APPROACH TO CHILDREN AND THE COMMUNITY, THIS PROJECT WILL OPEN A CHILDREN'S HOUSE IN THE MOST CONVENIENTLY LOCATED AREA OF KESENNUMA, WHERE CHILDREN AGED 10-13 CAN STUDY INDEPENDENTLY AFTER SCHOOL ON WEEKDAYS, AND WHERE ADULTS ARE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ON THEIR HOMEWORK FOR INSTANCE. WE WILL ADAPT THE YOUTH EMPOWERMENT SOLUTIONS (YES) APPROACH DEVELOPED BY RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN TO THE CHILDREN'S HOUSE IN KESENNUMA. YES IS BASED ON THE EMPOWERMENT THEO

PURPOSE: THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WILL EXAMINE AMERICAN PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF JAPAN AND THE US-JAPAN ALLIANCE AS PART OF THE COUNCIL'S 2023 AND 2024 CHICAGO COUNCIL SURVEYS, INVESTIGATE THE VIEWS OF FOREIGN POLICY OPINION LEADERS ON THE US-JAPAN ALLIANCE AS PART OF THE COUNCIL'S 2024 OPINION LEADERS SURVEY, AND COMPARE AMERICAN AND JAPANESE PUBLIC OPINION ON THE US-JAPAN RELATIONSHIP AND THE TWO NATIONS' REGIONAL AND GLOBAL ROLES AS PART OF A JOINT RESEARCH PROJECT WITH THE JAPAN INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (JIIA).

PURPOSE: HIGH RESOLUTION DIGITAL REPRODUCTION, COMBINED WITH TRADITIONAL FRAMING AND DISPLAY TECHNIQUES, HAVE OPENED A FASCINATING SET OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACCESS TO, PRESERVATION OF AND RETURN OF IMPORTANT TRADITIONAL JAPANESE ART.

PURPOSE: OUR PROPOSAL IS TO FIRST CONDUCT A SURVEY IN 13 NANKAI-TONANKAI EARTHQUAKE VULNERABLE JAPANESE PREFECTURES, BOTH MUNICIPALITIES AND PREFECTURAL GOVERNMENTS, TO ASSESS WHETHER ANY PLANNING HAS BEEN INITIATED TO ADDRESS RESPONSE NEEDS IF AN EARTHQUAKE ADVISORY IS RECEIVED FROM THE JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY. BASED ON THE SURVEY, WE WILL ASSESS THE NEEDS FOR PLAN DEVELOPMENT,AND GENERATE MODEL PLANS BASED ON BEST PRACTICES.