I left home on July 28th to Seattle to participate in the US-Japan Leadership Porgram as a second-year delegate. http://usjlp.org/ I came home on Aug. 4th as a Scott M. Johnson Fellow – a lifelong member to the community of graduates from the program. The community consists of leaders from various areas such as media, academia, politics, military, philanthropy, entrepreneurship, religion, art, technology and large corporations. For example, there is a former astronaut, Olympic athlete, and TV news anchors, among our community.
US-Japan Leadership Program started in 2001 as the flagship program of US-Japan Foundation. The program emphasizes personal dialogues, understanding and friendships to build strong relationships between the two nations. Each year, 40 delegates are selected to participate in the program: 20 from the U.S., 20 from Japan, and equal number of men and women, all from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Every even-year, the week-long conference takes place in Seattle. Every odd-year in Japan, starting from Kyoto, then a day in Hiroshima, ending in Tokyo. We spend time talking about world issues, sharing our various perspectives and expert opinions. We also bond over sharing great culinary and other cultural experiences, team-building exercises, excursions, and outdoor activities. Outside of the official program, many of the delegates and fellows get together to drink heartily, exchange stories and sing lots and lots of karaoke until our voices go hoarse.
This year, in Seattle, the serious parts of our conference discussed topics under the following titles:
- Erosion of Truth and Trust and the Implications for Democracy (media and politics)
- Partnering for a Safer World (Health, healthcare, and international conflicts)
- Upheaval in the Indo-Pacific: Strategic Prospects for the U.S. and Japan in Unprecedented Times
- Boom or Bust? Predictions for a Changing Economic Landscape
- Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Wake of the #MeToo Movement
- The State of Health and Healthcare
- The Future of Teams and Teamwork (Changing Concept of Teams with Technological Advancement of Transforming Space Designs)
- Storytelling in the Digital Age (Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Social Media, etc.)
- The Future of Artificial Intelligence
- How to Think like a Futurist
And the fun activities included the follwoings
- Iron chef style cooking competition (my team won!)
- Guided Amazon Spheres tour and shopping at Amazon Go
- Seattle Mariners vs. Houston Astros Game
- Wine Tasting
- An excursion to a winery, JM Cellars
- Mt Rainier Daytrip
- Sunset dinner cruise on Lake Union and Lake Washington
- An excursion to Alki Beach:
- A show by Git Hoan (NW Native American Tribe) Dancers
- Kayaking
I participated in the program, wanting to broaden my perspective and make my music more socially relevant. Also, as a Japanese citizen and U.S. resident, as well as a Japanese expert on Western music, I had the ambition to serve as a goodwill ambassador. What I got out of the program turned out to be so, so much more. People who choose participate in a program like this are all wanting to serve causes bigger than themselves. We bonded over our passion to make the world a better place through our respective paths. We cried, we laughed, and we could not believe how strong a bond we managed to form over the course of a week. Five days after the last day of the program, we are still exchanging messages, photos, and future promises constantly, via various means of communications.
I am so encouraged, inspired, and invigorated from everyone I’ve been so lucky to meet through this program. And as a fellow, we will continue to exchange ideas, collaborate on projects, and cheer each other on to serve this world, and our humanity.
If you are interested in applying, call for application will be announced in November. The application deadline is January 8th, 2019. Next year, the week long program in Japan will be from July 21st to the 28th. The program is open to everyone between the age of the 28 to 42.