The U.S.-Japan Council ( ja, 米日カウンシル, ''Beinichi Kaunshiru'', USJC) is a 501(c) 3 non-profit educational organization that contributes to strengthening U.S.-Japan relations by bringing together diverse leadership, engaging stakeholders and exploring issues that benefit communities, businesses and government entities on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. It is a

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

-led organization, fully dedicated to strengthening ties between the United States and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in a global context.

History

USJC was founded in 2009 by Japanese Americans who "saw a need for a conscious effort to ensure a strong relationship with Japan." Central to such an effort was

Irene Hirano Inouye Irene Hirano Inouye (''née'' Yasutake; October 7, 1948 – April 7, 2020) was the founding President of the U.S.-Japan Council, a position she held ever since she helped create the organization in 2009 until her death. Hirano Inouye focused on b ...

, then president and CEO of the Japanese American National Museum, who had been working with the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

to introduce Japanese American leaders to Japan through the Japanese American Leadership Delegation. In 2012, the U.S.-Japan Council (Japan) was created to support the administration of the TOMODACHI Initiative. In 2013, U.S.-Japan Council (Japan) became a Public Interest Corporation (''Koeki Zaidan Hojin''). President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe praised the work of the U.S.-Japan Council in supporting the U.S.-Japan relationship in a Joint Statement issued during their April 2014 Summit. The Joint Statement particularly highlighted the importance of the Japan American Leadership Delegation and the TOMODACHI Initiative, two of the U.S.-Japan Council's signature programs. In May 2020, Suzanne Basalla succeeded the late Hirano Inouye as President and CEO of the Council.

Organization

USJC cultivates an international network of Japanese American leaders known as Council Members, and collaborates with other organizations and institutions to develop programs that allow Council Members to engage with their Japanese counterparts and leaders in the United States.

Programs

USJC has several programs, including the USJC Annual Conference, the Japanese American Leadership Delegation program, the

Consuls General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

& Japanese American Leaders Meeting, the Emerging Leaders Program, and Legislative and Business Networking Initiatives.

The Tomodachi Initiative

The Tomodachi Initiative is a public–private partnership between the U.S.-Japan Council and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, with support from the Government of Japan. Born out of support for Japan’s recovery from the Great Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011, Tomodachi invests in the next generation of Japanese and American leaders through educational and cultural exchanges as well as leadership programs. In the aftermath of the Great Tohoku earthquake, USJC created the U.S.-Japan Council Earthquake Relief Fund, which supported the relief and recovery efforts of several NPOs and NGOs in Japan. Ambassador

John V. Roos John Victor Roos (born February 14, 1955) is an American businessman, attorney, and diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Japan from 2009 to 2013. He is the Founding Partner of Geodesic Capital. Before accepting the ambassadorship f ...

, who was serving in Japan at the time, approached USJC to work with the embassy to implement a public-private partnership. This then became the Tomodachi Initiative.

List of people associated with USJC

* Naoyuki Agawa *

George Aratani was a Japanese American entrepreneur, philanthropist and the founder of Mikasa china and owner of the Kenwood Electronics corporation. Early life Born in a farming community outside Gardena, he was the only child of Japanese immigrants Setsuo ...

* George Ariyoshi *

Howard Baker Howard Henry Baker Jr. (November 15, 1925 June 26, 2014) was an American politician and diplomat who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1967 to 1985. During his tenure, he rose to the rank of Senate Minority Leader and then ...

Gerald Curtis Gerald L. Curtis (born September 18, 1940) is an American academic, a political scientist interested in comparative politics, Japanese politics, and U.S.-Japan relations. Columbia University Curtis was the Burgess Professor of Political Science ...

* Thomas Foley * Ichiro Fujisaki *

Soichiro Fukutake is a Japanese billionaire, and the former chairman of the Benesse Corporation, a publishing firm and juku company known for its patronage of the arts. Career Fukutake inherited Benesse, which his father founded in 1955 as Fukutake Publishing. A ...

Glen Fukushima Glen Shigeru Fukushima (born 1949) is a third-generation American of Japanese ancestry who has worked in academia, journalism, law, government, business, and in the nonprofit sector. Since September 2012, he has been a senior fellow at the Cent ...

* Ryu Goto * Colleen Hanabusa *

Ernest Higa Ernest Higa (October 15, 1952) is an entrepreneur who founded the Domino's Pizza franchise in Japan. Higa was born on October 15, 1952, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is of Okinawan descent. His father is Yetsuo Higa and his sister is Merle Aiko Oka ...

* Mazie Hirono *

Daniel K. Inouye Daniel Ken Inouye ( ; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. representative f ...

* Ryozo Kato *

Fred Katayama Frederick Hiroshi Katayama (born February 18, 1960) is a Japanese American television journalist, currently working as a news anchor for Reuters Television. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Japan Society and the U.S.-Japan Co ...

* Takashi Kawamura * Yohei Kono * Hiroko Kuniya * Doris Matsui * Norman Mineta * Walter Mondale *

Daniel Okimoto Daniel I. Okimoto (born 1942) is a Japanese-American academic and political scientist.

* Motoatsu Sakurai *

Thomas Schieffer John Thomas Schieffer (born October 4, 1947) is an American diplomat and entrepreneur who served as U.S. Ambassador to Australia from 2001 to 2005 and as U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 2005 to 2009. Schieffer is the founder and President of Envo ...

* George Takei * Paul Terasaki * Kristi Yamaguchi *

Roy Yamaguchi Roy Yamaguchi (born 1956) is a Japanese-American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and founder of a collection of restaurants, including 30 Roy's Restaurants in the United States and Guam, the Tavern by Roy Yamaguchi and Eating House 1849. He is one ...

Jan Yanehiro Jan Yanehiro is a Japanese-American broadcast journalist. Personal life Yanehiro earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from California State University, Fresno in 1970. She first worked as a flight attendant before getting a job on radio sta ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website

TOMODACHI Initiative
2009 establishments in Washington, D.C. Organizations established in 2009 Charities based in Washington, D.C. Diaspora organizations in the United States Educational organizations based in Japan Educational organizations based in the United States Japan–United States relations Japanese American Organizations based in Tokyo