Japan - Us Student Exchange Program Resumes In - Person Meetings After 3 Years
A Japan-US student exchange program with a long history has held its first face-to-face meetings in three years.
The Japan-America Student Conference, or JASC, was launched in 1934 as Japan's first international student exchange program. Former Japanese Prime Minister Miyazawa Kiichi and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger were members.
The JASC had to limit its activities because of the coronavirus pandemic. The last time students from both countries met in person was in 2019.
This year, the organizers of the program decided to resume face-to-face exchanges -- 35 Japanese students went to the United States in early August.
The students from the two countries have held discussions while living together for three weeks in New York and other places.
On Wednesday, in Annapolis in the eastern state of Maryland, they summarized their discussions on seven subjects, including global governance, education and technology.
Some participants said it's important for Japan and the United States to cooperate in enhancing deterrence, as China has repeatedly conducted provocative activities around the Taiwan Strait.
Others advocated promoting communication between US forces stationed in the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa and local residents.
The Japanese executive committee chairperson, Yamasaki Satoko, is a student at Keio University. She said the students belong to a generation that has experienced the pandemic, so they could easily make preparations online. Yamasaki said she thinks the meetings may have become more fulfilling.
She added that seeing the participants freely discussing and deepening their friendship made her feel that all their efforts of the past year have been rewarded.