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Stanford e-Japan enrolls exceptional high school students from Japan to engage in an intensive study of U.S. society and culture. The Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) enrolls exceptional high school students from the United States to engage in an intensive study of Japanese society and culture. Both courses underscore the importance of U.S.–Japan relations.  is the current supporter of Stanford e-Japan, and the Japan Fund at the is the current supporter of the RSP.

On August 11, 2025, the 2025 Japan Day award ceremony was held at 91�Թ� to honor 91�Թ�’s Spring and Fall 2024 Stanford e-Japan student honorees and the 2025 RSP student honorees. The honorees performed at the highest levels of their courses as determined by Stanford e-Japan instructors Waka Takahashi Brown (spring course) and Meiko Kotani (fall course), RSP instructor Naomi Funahashi, and the research paper review committees. The honorees are:

Spring 2024 Stanford e-Japan 
Aoi Furutani, Saitama Municipal Urawa High School, “Comparative Analysis of Surrogacy Policies in the United States and Japan: Proposals for Introducing Surrogacy in Japan”

Komari Machida, Crimson Global Academy, “Futoukou vs. Homeschooling: Exploring Societal Reintegration of Children Outside of Traditional School Systems in Japan and the United States”

Sota Tajima, Seiko Gakuin High School, “Synergy in the Stars: How the U.S. and Japan Can Lead the Next Era of Space”

Honorable Mentions:
Ryu Sato, Soka Senior High School, “Japanese and American Philanthropic Culture in Regard to College Financial Aid”

Sakura Suzuki, Hokkaido Asahikawa Higashi High School, “Designing School Buildings to Encourage Student Creativity: Comparing Historical Changes in School Buildings in Japan and the United States”

Fall 2024 Stanford e-Japan
Ellen Nema, Junior and Senior High School Affliiated to Showa Pharmaceutical University, “Breaking the Chain of Poverty in Okinawa: Educational Approaches and Foundations”

Hirotaka Onishi, Kaisei Gakuen High School, “A Time for Reconsideration: Toward a New International Monetary Order”

Mia Yakushiji, Murasakino Municipal High School, “Dual Citizenship in Japan”

Honorable Mentions:
Lynne Mizushima, Keio Shonan Fujisawa Junior & Senior High School, “The Lack of Female Political Leaders in Japan: A Cultural Glass Ceiling”

Kan Sugimi, Isahaya High School, “Should Bilingual Parents in the U.S. Raise Bilingual Children?”

2025 Reischauer Scholars Program
Bennett Feng, Horace Mann School, “From Economic Rebirth to Structural Stagnation”

Jessica Hu, The Harker School, “Dried-Up Rivers: State-Sponsored Linguistic Oppression and Its Erasure of Ainu Identity”

Ty Tan, Coral Academy of Science Las Vegas, “Recalibrating Japan’s FOIP”

Honorable Mentions:

Jackson Hayward, The Nueva School, “Shikata ga nai: Voter Apathy and Cultural Depoliticization in Modern Japan”

Radoslav Kyselak, Highland Hall Waldorf School, “Norms Through Networks: Japan’s Digital Diplomacy as a Counter to China’s Digital Silk Road in the Global South”

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The program began with welcoming comments from the Honorable Yo Osumi, Consul General of Japan in San Francisco. He commented that the Reischauer Scholars Program and Stanford e-Japan are very important for our two nations—given that both engage future leaders in both countries—and extended high praise to the honorees. Consul General Osumi’s tenure ended at the end of August and on behalf of my colleagues at 91�Թ�, I presented him with a plaque from 91�Թ� to acknowledge his unwavering support of 91�Թ�’s Japan programs.

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Following the welcoming and opening comments, Brown, Kotani, and Funahashi gave overviews of their courses and introduced the student honorees. The student honorees made engaging presentations based on their research papers and fielded very thought-provoking questions from the audience. Each honoree received a plaque from their instructor. The photo on the top is of the Stanford e-Japan honorees, and the photo on the bottom is of the RSP honorees; photo credit: Irene Bryant.

The RSP will enter its 23rd year in 2026, and Stanford e-Japan is about to enter its 11th year. Many of the alumni are studying U.S.–Japan relations, engaged in various fields related to U.S.–Japan relations, and continue to give back to both programs by being guest speakers and mentors to the new students.

Following the formal event, the student honorees—most having just met each other in person for the first time—had the chance to enjoy a Stanford campus tour together. It is the hope of Brown, Kotani, and Funahashi that the Japanese and American student honorees will continue to strengthen their budding friendships and ensure that the U.S.–Japan relationship remains strong.

91�Թ� is grateful to President Tadashi Yanai for his generous support of Stanford e-Japan and to the staff of the Yanai Tadashi Foundation for their regular correspondence and encouragement. 91�Թ� is thankful to the Japan Fund committee at FSI for its generous support of the Reischauer Scholars Program. These courses and the ceremony would not be possible without them. 91�Թ� is also grateful to 91�Թ� Event Coordinator Sabrina Ishimatsu for meticulously planning and implementing the event.

91�Թ� is currently accepting applications for the 2026 Reischauer Scholars Program. The deadline to apply is October 17, 2025.

The application for the 2026 session of Stanford e-Japan will open on November 15, 2025.

91�Թ� also offers online courses to U.S. high school students on China (China Scholars Program), Korea (Sejong Korea Scholars Program), and entrepreneurship (Stanford e-Entrepreneurship U.S.), to Chinese high school students on the United States (Stanford e-China), and to Japanese high school students on entrepreneurship (Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan).

To stay informed of 91�Թ� news,  and follow us on , , and .

91�Թ� is thrilled to announce the launch of its newest online program for high school students, Stanford e-Entrepreneurship U.S. (SeEU). SeEU invites high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors from all over the United States to .  

Thanks to generous donor support, the inaugural class of Stanford e-Entrepreneurship U.S. will be offered free of charge to students.

The course will be offered through the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (91�Թ�). Its instructor, Dr. Makiko Hirata, has also served as instructor of a similar course—Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan (SeEJ)—for several years, but she considers this new course somewhat differently. “We must appreciate the different contexts from which U.S. students consider social issues,” Hirata notes. “In addition, the world we live in today is quite different from what it was when SeEJ launched in 2020, and it continues to change rapidly. I want this course to empower students with agility and confidence to address pressing global and local challenges.”  

Stanford e-Entrepreneurship U.S. will challenge high school students to unleash their creativity and design original solutions to real-world problems. In this hands-on, student-centered course, students will explore who they are, identify what drives them and why, and experiment with ideas that matter to them. Engaging with scholars and experts from 91�Թ�, Silicon Valley and beyond, the participants will work with peers to think with imagination, empathy, and strategy.

Students who successfully complete the course will earn Stanford Continuing Studies credit and a Certificate of Completion from 91�Թ�.  

91�Թ� is currently accepting applications. Interested students should apply at . The application deadline is September 29, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. 

For more information, please visit /fellowship/stanford-e-entrepreneurship-us or email Dr. Makiko Hirata at mhirata@stanford.edu.

To stay informed of 91�Թ�-related news, and follow 91�Թ� on , , and .

I have two names. At school, my friends would call me over saying, “Hey Claire!” At home, I was “윤아야” or “Yuna,” my Korean name. I used to joke as a child that there were two separate versions of myself and I would “switch” between the two, going from Claire to Yuna and back again. As I grew older, I started hearing terms such as “Korean American,” “Asian American,” and gyopo (someone with Korean heritage but born outside of Korea). All of these labels sent my mind spiraling. I had always been either Claire or Yuna, so I had no idea how the two could coexist together.

Amidst this confusion, I applied for the Sejong Korea Scholars Program to explore my heritage and the country I’ve had such a complex relationship with. Each unit, my classmates and I analyzed textbook excerpts to news articles, sharing our thoughts through written assignments and discussion boards. We concluded with an end-of-unit virtual classroom, featuring expert historians and professors who generously shared their knowledge.

Spanning from the Joseon dynasty to post-colonial Korea to the Hallyu wave, this course took me on a journey throughout all chapters of Korean history. From the colonial independence movement to the post-war democratization protests, I continued to be in awe of the sheer grit and courage of the Korean people. As we delved deeper into modern Korean society by examining topics of education and nationalism, I was also able to contextualize my upbringing and the complexities of my Korean American identity.

Furthermore, the curriculum allowed us the freedom to lead our own learning. For my final paper, I analyzed the impacts of online feminist societies and gender violence on the prevalence of gender animosity in modern-day Korea. Taking this unique opportunity to explore my personal interests further fueled my passion for modern Korean history, social movements, as well as the ways the oppressed fight for a voice.

I would like to deeply thank Dr. HyoJung Jang for being an invaluable mentor throughout this course with her incredible expertise and dedication to learning for learning’s sake. I would also like to credit my talented classmates who inspired me with their insights and always pushed me to view the world from different perspectives.

This course challenged me in countless ways: as a learner, a Korean American, and a person. SKSP is a unique opportunity to learn with rigorous coursework and top-tier resources while exploring one’s own academic interests. I genuinely encourage students to apply, no matter their background, as anyone with a passion for knowledge will be wholeheartedly welcomed and rewarded.

SKSP has been pivotal in discovering my passion for East Asian and Korean studies, one that I wish to pursue both personally and in higher education. In terms of my personal journey, I am still navigating the complexities of my identity and will continue to do so throughout my life. But my SKSP experience has truly opened my eyes to all facets of my identity and their complex intersections. I know now that Claire and Yuna were never two separate people nor two separate parts of me. Rather, they are the ones who make each other whole. 

SKSP is one of several online courses offered by 91�Թ�.

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I have always wished to learn more about Korea. Since I am only half Korean, my grandparents’ stories of Seoul made up the extent of my knowledge for much of my childhood. As I grew up and began to slot together my identity in a patchwork of personality and truths, my Korean identity simply did not fit. I could barely stomach the spice of bibimmyeon, my mother’s favorite Korean noodle dish. Wearing hanboks, the traditional Korean dress, never gave me the elegance my cousins seemed to embody. Speaking Korean didn’t come to me as easily as it did for my sister. What I did have were my grandparents’ firsthand stories, with rich history peeking through childhood anecdotes and accounts of war. Korean history always felt quite accessible to me, even if it didn’t make me feel Korean enough.

Accordingly, getting to participate in the Sejong Korea Scholars Program was a dream come true for me. I sensed that it would be a unique and incredible opportunity, and that perception was immediately confirmed by the first introductory meeting on Zoom. If anything, the online format made the focus of the program even clearer, and each virtual classroom felt just as grounded as any in-person class I’ve experienced.

It was especially exciting to be surrounded by 18 other like-minded and talented peers. We were all in pursuit of the same learning, the same deep dive into Korean history—and many were in the program for reasons similar to mine. There was a deep affinity for culture in the group, and not just for Korean culture. With so many Korean Americans in the group, it was fun to post or comment about our connections to Korea, and just as exciting to learn about Korean Americans from esteemed Professor Kyeyoung Park, who graciously answered all of our questions. I also must commend the students who weren’t Korean and simply were excited about Korean history; their passion was always quite inspiring.

Above all, what made SKSP so special was the historiography, which had long been a personal area of interest. Dr. HyoJung Jang, our extraordinary instructor, curated a diverse assortment of sources each week, ranging from U.S. government documents to articles to contemporary qualitative experiments. In between each virtual classroom, I pored over several sources, and reflected on the way they interacted with each other. As I worked on our biweekly writing assignment, I found myself making multiple connections for each source and forming my own mini arguments in the paragraphs. By the time we got to each lecture, I had stewed on my ideas long enough to get quite excited about the questions I wanted to ask.

Each lecturer gave a spectacular presentation and was quite generous with their time. In particular, I’ll highlight Professor Gi-Wook Shin and Professor Nancy Abelmann, who taught us about different facets of contemporary Korean society: nationalism and the education system, respectively. Their talks were grounded in Korean norms of filial piety, respect, and also patriarchal systems, a topic I intended to write my paper about.

At the time, however, my paper topic was, quite frankly, a mess. I knew I wanted to involve pop culture somehow into my discussion of ingrained misogyny in Korean society, but had written some incredibly vague topic proposal about sexist dating norms present in music and TV shows. Luckily, Dr. Jang gave some much-needed feedback about the large scope of my proposal. In the process of reading through academic papers around sexism, I came across digital feminist movements, and decided that the accessibility and weaponization of the internet was going to be my new focus. Of all the incredible experiences in the program, I think I’ll always remember writing my paper, how Dr. Jang was an especially important personal mentor, and the overwhelming feeling (as I was writing) that I was connected to my culture, somehow.

When I think back to the way I worried over my lack of a connection to Korea at the beginning of the year, I find my concerns a bit silly now. I now know that I have always been connected to my heritage through my history. Even if that didn’t feel like it was enough before, my scholarship and pursuit of Korean history through SKSP have now proven that to me. I will forever remember this program as a place where my writing became true to myself, and went beyond what I ever could have imagined. To all interested students, I urge you to apply without inhibition. You will surely find something you didn’t know you needed—whether it’s a reassurance about your culture, a reignited passion, or simply growth—in the Sejong Korea Scholars Program. 

SKSP is one of several online courses offered by 91�Թ�.

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The fifth year of the Stanford/91�Թ� East Asia Seminars for Teachers in Hawaiʻi (“Stanford SEAS �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i”) was launched in April 2025 and included four online seminars that featured Stanford-affiliated scholars—Professor Ethan Segal, Professor Andrew Walder, PhD candidate Zoë Gioja, and Ambassador Scot Marciel—and culminated in a three-day in-person summer institute that took place from July 12 to 14, 2025 at the �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i Imin International Conference Center at Jefferson Hall, East-West Center. This year’s cohort included 19 public and private high school teachers—Stanford/Freeman SEAS �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i Fellows—from across �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i. Below are the names of the 2025 Stanford/Freeman SEAS �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i Fellows, their schools, and the islands where their schools are located:

Stanford SEAS �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i Manager Rylan Sekiguchi invited scholars from �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i as well as curriculum writers and facilitators of teacher professional development to offer presentations over the course of the institute. They are listed below as well as the titles of their presentations. The presentation topics were selected to support �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i State Department of Education standards such as “U.S. History and Government Theme 1 (Immigration and Migration, 1880–1930), Anchor Standard 16 (Global Interconnections and Changing Spatial Patterns): Cause and Effects of Migration.”

• Shana Brown, Associate Professor, University of �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i at Mānoa, “U.S.–China Relations: Problems and Potential”
• Douglas D. L. Chong, President of the Hawaii Chinese History Center, “The Chinese Diaspora in �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i”
• Jonas Edman, Instructional Designer, 91�Թ�, “91�Թ� Curricula on Chinese American History”
• Naomi Funahashi, Manager, Reischauer Scholars Program and Teacher Professional Development, 91�Թ�, “Teaching Contemporary Korea with 91�Թ�”
• Merle Grybowski, Director of Teacher Training, Pacific and Asian Affairs Council, “East-West Center Walkabout”
• Patricia Halagao, Professor, University of �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i at Mānoa, “Teaching Filipino Identity, History, and Resistance”
• Ken K. Ito, Professor Emeritus, University of �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i at Mānoa, “Nakashima Naoto’s ‘Waiawa Station’ (1934) as Diasporic Fiction”
• C. Harrison Kim, Associate Professor, University of �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i at Mānoa, “Korea in the 20th Century: Colonialism, North/South Division, Futures”
• Jonathan Okamura, Professor Emeritus, University of �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i at Mānoa, “East Asians and Southeast Asians in Unequal �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i”
• Rylan Sekiguchi, Manager of Curriculum and Instructional Design, 91�Թ�, “Divided Memories: Comparing History Textbooks”
   

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Stanford SEAS �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i is made possible by a generous grant from the Freeman Foundation. President Graeme Freeman (photo above) spoke during the summer institute about the Freeman Foundation’s mission of helping to enhance the teaching of East Asia through programs such as the  and Stanford SEAS Hawaiʻi and expressed his gratitude to the Stanford/Freeman SEAS �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i Fellows for the tremendous impact their learning has on their students. Graeme was joined by Vice President Shereen Goto, Executive Assistant Sandra Lee, and Foundation Assistant Kellie Matsudaira of the Freeman Foundation. Additional support for the summer institute was kindly provided by  and the  through the U.S. Department of Education National Resource Center funding under the auspices of Title VI, Section 602(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

As I observed the lectures, curriculum demonstrations, and listened to the Stanford/Freeman SEAS �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i Fellows’ comments, questions, and resource sharing, I reflected on ways that 91�Թ� has continued to serve as a bridge between 91�Թ� scholars and teachers in �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i since 1988 when 91�Թ� founding director Dr. David Grossman established the Consortium for Teaching Asia and the Pacific in the Schools (CTAPS) at the East-West Center. During the institute, I shared thoughts on three Stanford scholars. Stanford scholar Lee Shulman is someone whom I mentioned to teachers at the second CTAPS summer institute that was held in 1989. Shulman is known for developing the concept of pedagogical content knowledge or PCK, which emphasizes that teachers need not only subject matter expertise but also pedagogical content knowledge. While listening to the Stanford/Freeman SEAS �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i Fellows, their unique blend of subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge really shined. Second, during the institute, I could really feel the fellows’ embrace of the diversity of their students, the people in �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i, and beyond. I spoke about Stanford psychologist Jamil Zaki, who has noted that empathy is an umbrella term that captures at least three ways that we connect with one another’s emotions. One is emotional empathy, which is vicariously sharing somebody else’s feelings. Cognitive empathy is one’s attempt to understand what someone else is feeling and why. And empathic concern or compassion is one’s motivation to improve others’ well-being. Third, Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu is a psychologist formerly with the University of Tokyo who now teaches at Stanford. His scholarship on heartfulness—elucidated in his book, From Mindfulness to Heartfulness: Transforming Self and Society with Compassion—notes that heartfulness is a way of living with mindfulness, compassion, and responsibility that enhances well-being and transformation. Sekiguchi noted that he certainly felt this heartfulness while interacting with the Stanford/Freeman SEAS �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i Fellows since April of this year.

In the month following the institute’s conclusion, each Stanford/Freeman SEAS �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i Fellow will create an original lesson plan that incorporates content that was introduced during Stanford SEAS Hawaiʻi. Sekiguchi awaits in anticipation of seeing how content from the seminar will reach hundreds of secondary school students throughout �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i.

Sekiguchi and Sabrina Ishimatsu, 91�Թ� Event Coordinator, who organized the institute, and I are grateful to the East-West Center for allowing 91�Թ� to host the Stanford SEAS �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i summer institute at its beautiful venue.

Most importantly, everyone at 91�Թ� is immensely grateful to President Graeme Freeman, Vice President Shereen Goto, and the Freeman Foundation for its generosity in making Stanford SEAS �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i possible and providing us the opportunity to engage Stanford/Freeman SEAS �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i Fellows with scholars from 91�Թ�, the University of �Ჹ�ɲ���‘i at Mānoa, and beyond.

To stay informed of 91�Թ� news,  and follow us on , , and .

Applications are now open for Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan (SeEJ), an online course conducted in English to foster Japanese students’ creative thinking and innovative problem-solving skills to address social issues. SeEJ is offered twice a year in the fall and spring through a collaboration between 91�Թ� and the non-profit organization e-Entrepreneurship in Japan. It is open to Japanese-speaking students, in or from Japan, in their first and second years of high school. The fall 2025 course will be taught by Irene Bryant and will run from late October 2025 through February 2026.

The application form is now live at . The deadline to apply is September 5, 2025 at 23:59 Japan Time.

Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan offers students an opportunity to engage with scholars and entrepreneurs from 91�Թ� and beyond through live virtual classes, which are held twice a month on Sundays. The course will culminate in an individual research paper and final group projects. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a Certificate of Completion from 91�Թ� and NPO e-Entrepreneurship.

Past students have credited SeEJ with not only expanding their knowledge about entrepreneurship, but also shifting their attitudes and mindset in how to look at problems. “What I really loved about this program is that it required constant innovative thinking, relatively free presentation topics, and more independent action,” reflects Shinnosuke Nakagawa, who completed the fall 2024 course. “This program made innovative thinking and design thinking my norm. I think this program helped me to develop thinking habits that will be very useful in the future.”

Fellow alum Shia Han agrees. “Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan gave me insight on topics I would otherwise never be able to learn about. From the mechanisms on how to think entrepreneurially to how various companies strive for social change, I gained valuable information on how I can work towards solving issues in the world. Hearing about how the guest lecturers and my peers in this program were actively taking action towards topics they were interested in motivated me to not be held back because of my age or abilities but to work towards contributing to causes I was passionate about.”

For more information about Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan, visit the program webpage. Interested high school students should by September 5, 2025.

Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan is one of several online courses offered by 91�Թ�.

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91�Թ� continues to broaden its impact across Japan, recently launching the new Stanford e-Yamaguchi program. This addition joins the growing network of 91�Թ�’s regional high school programs in Japan, which already includes Stanford e-Hiroshima, Stanford e-Kagoshima City, Stanford e-Kawasaki, Stanford e-Kobe, Stanford e-Oita, Stanford e-Tottori, Stanford e-Wakayama, and Stanford e-Fukuoka*.

These online courses are the result of partnerships between 91�Թ� and local governments and schools in Japan. Designed to challenge students to think critically, the programs focus on global issues related to U.S. society, culture, and U.S.–Japan relations.

With the conclusion of the 2024–2025 academic year, each program has selected two standout students for their overall performance, including exceptional final research projects. These 16 honorees will present their work during several recognition ceremonies to be held at 91�Թ� in August 2025. Distinguished guests will include members of the Stanford community, the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, and representatives from the Japanese community in the Bay Area.

The 91�Թ� staff extends its warmest congratulations to the following student honorees for their remarkable academic performance.

Stanford e-Hiroshima (Instructor Rylan Sekiguchi)

Student Honoree: Haruka Morisako
School: Kamo High School

Student Honoree: Yura Sakamoto
School: Kure Mitsuta High School

Stanford e-Kagoshima City (Instructor Amy Cheng)

Student Honoree: Aoi Machida
School: Kagoshima Gyokuryu High School

Student Honoree: Yujiro Matsunaga
School: Kagoshima Gyokuryu High School

Stanford e-Kawasaki (Instructor Maiko Tamagawa Bacha)

Student Honoree: Yuka Nagasawa
School: Kawasaki High School

Student Honoree: Reimi Ito
School: Tachibana High School

Stanford e-Kobe (Instructor Alison Harsch)

Student Honoree: Karen Ito 
School: Kobe Municipal Fukiai High School

Student Honoree: Shoko Urakami
School: Kobe University Secondary School

Stanford e-Oita (Instructor Kasumi Yamashita)

Student Honoree: Yuri Kishida
School: Ajimu High School

Student Honoree: Yoka Okuda
School: Usa High School

Stanford e-Tottori (Instructor Jonas Edman)

Student Honoree: Maiko Koyama
School: Tottori Nishi High School

Student Honoree: Nobuki Tokukura
School: Seishokaichi High School

Stanford e-Wakayama (Instructor Makiko Hirata)

Student Honoree: Yuto Nishi
School: Kushimoto Koza High School

Student Honoree: Tomoka Kishigami
School: Kaichi High School

Stanford e-Yamaguchi (Instructor Mia Kimura)

Student Honoree: Asako Kaya
School: Iwakuni High School

Student Honoree: Miku Kuramura
School: Shimonoseki Nishi High School

91�Թ� applauds the curiosity, academic excellence, and global mindset of these students and looks forward to celebrating their achievements next month.

* Stanford e-Fukuoka ends later this summer so its honorees will be announced at a later date.

91�Թ� also offers online courses to U.S. high school students on Japan (Reischauer Scholars Program), China (China Scholars Program), and Korea (Sejong Korea Scholars Program), and online courses to Chinese high school students on the United States (Stanford e-China) and to Japanese high school students on the United States and U.S.–Japan relations (Stanford e-Japan) and on entrepreneurship (Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan).

To stay informed of news about Stanford e-Japan and 91�Թ�’s other programs,  and follow us on , , and .

The following is a guest article written by Akiko Mizuno, who traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area with other graduate students from the University of Tokyo—under the leadership of Professor Hideto Fukudome—in January 2025. 91�Թ�/Stanford collaborates closely with the Graduate School of Education at the University of Tokyo and met with the students during their visit to the Bay Area.     

As a student at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Education, I had an opportunity to travel to 91�Թ� to participate in a 91�Թ�-supported intensive seminar at the end of January this year. What I learned during the week-long program far exceeded my expectations. I would like to share some of the highlights of my experience during my stay at 91�Թ�, but first I would very much like to express my appreciation to Dr. Hideto Fukudome of the University of Tokyo who led our group, and to Dr. Gary Mukai, Director of 91�Թ�, who guided us throughout the special lecture series. My heartfelt thanks also go to all the lecturers who gave us such a heartwarming welcome and truly inspiring and eye-opening lectures.

There were many great things that impressed me through my participation in the 91�Թ�-supported intensive seminar. One of the experiences that gave me a lasting impression was a morning walk through San Jose Japantown guided by Dr. Mukai. As we walked, he told us about his childhood growing up as a sansei (third-generation Japanese American) in the 1960s. As I kept listening to his stories, I was able to imagine the hardships he and his family must have gone through even though he told his stories without drama or hyperbole.

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At one street corner in Japantown, there was a long, horizontal granite monument. There, I saw big romaji characters carved in capital letters that read “GAMAN. KODOMO NO TAME NI,” which means, “Endure. For the sake of our children.” It suddenly dawned on me that years upon years of struggles that issei (first-generation Japanese immigrants) and nisei (second-generation Japanese Americans) endured so that their children could have a brighter future were expressed in just those 19 letters etched on the stone bench. To this day, I can still vividly recall those letters because they are now etched on my heart.

Another experience that left me with a strong impression was a lecture on design thinking by 91�Թ� educational researcher Dr. Mariko Yang-Yoshihara. Before we left Japan, she had given us an assignment to watch a video about Dr. Ge Wang, professor in the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at 91�Թ�, and write about our reactions. The video included Dr. Wang’s talk and a demonstration of how he produces novel musical sounds using a computer and a bow-shaped metal. At first, they were so unfamiliar to me that I felt somewhat uncomfortable. “Is this considered music?,” was my initial reaction. However, when he played Bach on the Ocarina iPhone app he had invented, I could even say that it was soothing. Towards the end of the video, Dr. Wang also introduced us to a piece of music performed by the Stanford Laptop Orchestra, which he had founded. As I listened to their unconventional orchestra sound, I became even more relaxed and fascinated by the beautiful harmony they produced. I then realized that the whole point of this assignment was to gain a perspective on how we should not be close-minded and embrace new experiences. In her research, Dr. Yang-Yoshihara has introduced a trilogical mindset—think out of the box, give it a try, and fail forward—highlighting these as common attitudes shared by individuals thriving in STEAM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics) across diverse sectors today. By being introduced to Dr. Ge Wang’s endeavor and experiencing my own shift in how I appreciate music, I now see myself beginning to “think out of the box” and finding new experiences more enjoyable.

Dr. Mukai, a noted educator and compassionate person, was the very personification of his parents’ profound love and perseverance, and I learned from Dr. Yang-Yoshihara the importance of having an open mind to be innovative. Having had these valuable lessons, how could I stay the same as before? I am truly thankful that I can still grow even though I am no longer in my youth.

In March 2025, both Dr. Mukai and Dr. Yang-Yoshihara came to Japan and took some time to visit us at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Education. It was a big bonus for me to be able to see them again. I know I am fortunate to have had this extra opportunity to further exchange ideas and learn from them. I am looking forward to implementing the lessons learned through 91�Թ� in my daily life. It was indeed a wonderful way to start a New Year.

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