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FALL 2011
Issue Highlights:Japan 2011 Memory Scrapbook
page 2
“Project Iwate” Report page 6
Capital Campaign Special Update page 9
USJLPer Gatherings and News page 10
Where else could you meet a hedge fund manager, Hitachi Fellow, Buddhist priest, international banker, U.S. Navy fi ghter pilot and female
race car driver all in the same week?
Delegates in front Daikegonji gate at Todaiji Temple in Nara. From left to right:
Hiroaki Toya (11,12), Laura Winthrop Abbot (11,12), Keisuke Matsumoto (11,12), Yumiko Kusakabe (11,12),
Spencer Abbot (10,11), and Keiko Ihara (11,12).
The twelfth annual conference, held July 17-24, 2011, brought together
43 incredibly talented and diverse del-egates for an intensive week of discus-sions, late night bonding and deep ex-plorations into Japanese culture.
This year more than ever, appreciat-ing the beauty, sanctity, and nuances of Japan was a central theme. From tour-ing the architectural wonders of Kyoto and Nara and getting an up close view
of the underpinnings of Himeji castle, to connecting with high school students and to history through an atomic bomb survivor’s touching story, the week was a whirlwind adventure through the sites, tastes and sounds of Kyoto, Nara, Hiro-shima and Kobe.
Read on as six delegates share their impressions of the week and the lasting effects that the experience and friend-ships made have had on their lives.
2 Japan 2011 Refl ections
Jason Dean (11,12)
Some of the best memories of my life were those that I never saw coming. As a first year delegate this year, I was anxiously anticipating my first trip to Japan—
dutifully reading our book assignments, getting familiar with my fellow delegates’ backgrounds, and thinking about what I wanted to take away from this experience. My expectations were that I would connect with a person or two, learn something
I didn’t already know or hadn’t read about, see something I hadn’t seen, and maybe make a lasting business relation-ship.
What I didn’t see coming were the in-tangible, nuanced, and unwritten parts of the US Japan Leadership Program that I experienced. Each of my fellow dele-gates could make their own list of subtle memories and each would be as unique as we are from one another. For me these came in the form of hearing the Hiroshi-ma survivor’s gripping first-hand account of that awful
day. It was the breathtakingly delicate beauty of the maiko dancer and the tea ceremony performed by high school stu-dents. It was walking alone in an open-air market in Kyoto with a cacophony of lights, sounds, and smells exhilarating all my sense at once. It was an informal and authentic conversation about education, class, and race over okonomiyaki. It was an inspirational talk about how young leaders in Japan are honestly assessing the near and long term challenges of the country and how they intend to address them. It was watching an ethereal Japan disappearing out of the airplane window realizing this big old world just got a little smaller and knowing I would be back.
Most fundamentally important are the true friendships that were made with fel-low delegates that will clearly last a lifetime. This could only have happened with the intense experience we were given in such a short time. The speakers, the programs, the cultural visits, and the presentations are all vital to the substantive portion of the
USJLP. But it is the intangibles that will remain with me the longest.
Ryohei Nakagawa (10,11)
I t was only a few days before I moved from Geneva, Switzerland, to Kyoto
when I first received acceptance to the USJLP community in March 2010, just as my career was in transition from fi-nance and business to academia. What-ever work I do and wherever I live, U.S.-Japan relations have always been in my sphere of interest, and the Program
Above: A student at Ritzumeikan Uji High School performing a tea ceremony for American delegates.
Below: Yayoi Shionoiri (10,11) gets into the ‘bonodori’ (summer dancing) spirit;
First year delegates Shigeki Sugii, Hajime Kitajima, Keisuke Matsumoto, and Keiko Ihara enjoy sightseeing
in Kyoto, despite rainy conditions;
Delegates spend time meditating at Ryoanji Temple’s famous rock garden.
“What I didn’t see coming
were the intan-gible, nuanced, and unwritten
parts of USJLP.”
Delegates Reflect Back on Japan 2011
Jason Dean (left front) enjoys Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki with Ben Packard (08,11), Stefan Pryor
(11,12) and Lolita Jackson (10,11).
ome of the best memories of my life were those that I never saw coming. As a first year delegate this year, I was anxiously anticipating my first trip to Japan—
dutifully reading our book assignments, getting familiar with my fellow delegates’ backgrounds, and thinking about what I wanted to take away from this experience.
maybe make a lasting business relation- Above: A student at Ritzumeikan Uji High School
Ryohei Nakagawa greets students, staff and delegates at Ritumeikan Uji Junior and Senior High Schol. Ryohei
was was instrumental in arranging the memorable school visit.
when I first received acceptance to the USJLP community in March 2010, just as my career was in transition from fi-nance and business to academia. What-ever work I do and wherever I live, U.S.-Japan relations have always been in my sphere of interest, and the Program
came in the form of hearing the Hiroshi-ma survivor’s gripping first-hand account
about how young leaders in Japan are honestly assessing the near and long term challenges of the country and how they intend to address them. It was watching an
famous rock garden.
challenges of the country and how they intend to address them. It was watching an ethereal Japan disappearing out of the airplane window realizing this big old world
Most fundamentally important are the true friendships that were made with fel-low delegates that will clearly last a lifetime. This could only have happened with the intense experience we were given in such a short time. The speakers, the programs, the cultural visits, and the presentations are all vital to the substantive portion of the
about how young leaders in Japan are honestly assessing the near and long term challenges of the country and how they intend to address them. It was watching an
3Japan 2011 Refl ections
provided me a great opportunity to rethink about and rebuild my personal U.S.-Japan relations.
And here I was as a second year delegate. This year’s fascinating members came from a variety of professional backgrounds; namely from business, law, government, defense, academia, and journalism to medicine, science, filmmak-ing, F3 racing, and Buddhist temple strategizing. I found the true value of the Program in discussing diverse issues with diverse del-egates. Our outdoor “Operation Tomodachi” started with rainstorm survival training through temples and shrines and narrow passages of historic Kyoto, followed by hot and humid sightseeing with an animé-voiced tour guide in Nara, and a survivor’s moving and thought-pro-voking talk in Hiroshima.
Being a local resident, I was flattered and honored to be the group’s Sherpa for a visit to Ritsumeikan Uji High School, where we had direct communication with ambitious teenagers by sharing their future career perspectives and our personal stories. Since the biggest joy of my current job is in communication with young students, I felt pleased to see delegates sharing the joy and enjoying my humble “Operation Tomodachi.” With great support from Takafumi Kawakami (08, 09), my wife Akiko, and my children (Zentaro & Yasuno Nakagawa, 2040?), I also arranged some nijikai, where delegates’ gifted skills of delivering fun and exciting drinking games sparkled.
With memories of our extraordinary and rewarding week, and with feelings of sincere gratitude to the dedicated staff of US-Japan Foundation and USJLP Fellows, we are all back to our individual duties, knowing that someday our paths will cross in future and go for nijikai games again. For now, sayonara, and see you all in due course.
David Motzenbecker (10,11)
Community. A word that is often used frivolously, like so many political
buzzwords we see surrounding us today. However, after spending a week in Japan – surrounded by like minds, large smiles, and laughter; hearing first-hand how community is being rebuilt across the na-tion, I couldn’t help but feel the palpable sense of this global community. Tapping
into Yachi Shotaro’s recent insight that we need to “rebuild a society in which people are more connected to one another,” is our very own global community builder - USJLP. Rapport, and more importantly, friendships within this group are built on a mutual appreciation for the unique talents and positions we found ourselves surrounded by every day. Erudite discussions, framed by intelli-gent and articulate moderators and panel mem-bers and ranging from the aftermath of the tsuna-mi to the lack of anger from Generation X, spoke
“This idea of build-ing a community across time and...
of the moment are facets of USJLP that
I was honored to participate in and
see continuing on a daily basis.”
“I found the true value of the Program in discussing
diverse issues with diverse delegates.”
provided me a great opportunity to rethink about and rebuild my personal U.S.-Japan relations.
came from a variety of professional backgrounds; namely from business, law, government, defense, academia, and journalism to medicine, science, filmmak-ing, F3 racing, and Buddhist temple strategizing. I found the true value of the Program in discussing diverse issues with diverse del-egates. Our outdoor “Operation Tomodachi” started with rainstorm survival training through temples and shrines and narrow passages of historic Kyoto, followed by hot and humid sightseeing with an animé-voiced tour guide in Nara, and a survivor’s moving and thought-pro-guide in Nara, and a survivor’s moving and thought-pro-voking talk in Hiroshima.
to be the group’s Sherpa for a visit to Ritsumeikan Uji High School, where we had direct communication with ambitious teenagers by sharing their future career perspectives and our personal stories. Since the biggest joy of my current job is in communication with young students, I felt pleased to see delegates sharing the joy and enjoying my humble “Operation Tomodachi.” With great support from Takafumi Kawakami (08, 09), my wife Akiko, and my children (Zentaro & Yasuno Nakagawa, 2040?), I also arranged some nijikai, where delegates’ gifted skills of delivering fun and
shrines and narrow passages of historic Kyoto, followed by hot and humid sightseeing with an animé-voiced tour guide in Nara, and a survivor’s moving and thought-pro-
David Motzenbecker (rear) and Akihisa Shiozaki (10,11) discover the secret to sustaining late night
bonding in bowls of “ultimate ramen” noodles.
Above: Second year delegates Ryohei Nakagawa, Rod Lewis and Hajime Matsuura enjoying lunch together
in Hiroshima;
Delegates take a day trip to Miyajima. Back row: JV Schwan, Koichi Sughimoto, Ken Kaihara, Akihisa Shio-zaki, Terumichi Tawara, Geoff rey Gresh, Brendan Kelly, Keisuke Masumoto; Front row: Corina Warfi eld, Chris Calabia, Maki Tanaka, Keiko Ihara, Yumiko Kusakabe,
Hiroaki Toya, Sumit Agarwal, Hajime Kitajima, Ann Kim;
Shigeki Sugii fl owing along wih the bonodori proces-sion line at Arima Onsen.
Below: Keiko Ihara (11,12) talks about career options with students at Ritsumeikan Uji.
4 Japan 2011 Refl ections
directly to the intellectual hunger for cross-cultural understanding and the building of community.
Nijikais, Sanjikais, Karaoke, “Ultimate” ramen, Okonomiyaki of the Gods (thanks to Nobu Akiyama!), and sake extravaganzas also tapped into a core tenet of community building – the shared experience. This idea of building a community across time and also building a community of the moment are facets of USJLP that I was honored to participate in and see continuing on a daily basis.
It is this community – carefully crafted and cultivated – that will continue to as-cend into positions of leadership over the coming generations. This leadership will inevitably bring with it the innate sense of a connected, cross-cultural, global com-munity – one that will always strive towards the rising sun.
Daisuke Iwase (11,12)
Some of my best moments from our week together in Kyoto: (a) watching a Japanese diplomat and SDF official sit side-by-side with their counterparts from
the Pentagon and the US Air Force discussing Operation Tomodachi --- a testa-ment of the true strengths of US-Japan relationship; (b) the long bus rides to and from sightseeing sites which allowed us to sit down with new friends and engage in in-depth discussions; (c) our Great Priest Keisuke Matsumoto sharing his life story during the dinner session --- incredible how much creativity and innovation one can bring to such an old and mature industry like Buddhism; and (d) last not but least, the amazing nijikais and sanji-kais we spent together learning Japanese drinking postures and formalities. It’s astounding what can be achieved by put-ting 40 outstanding individuals together night and day for a full week. Thanks to George, Takuma-san and the team for organizing an unforgettable week!
Lolita Jackson (10,11)
I loved my first USJLP conference experience last year in Seattle and didn’t think it could be topped. Also, I had never been to Japan before and wasn’t sure what
to expect. I happily came away from this year’s transformed: from the hospital-ity shown by our Japanese hosts, the great sessions, the fabulous sights, sounds and tastes [with lots of nijikai and sanjikai] and the intense bonding. The diversity
of our class made it imperative to speak to as many different people as possible during the week and I feel I have made many lifelong friends. Where else would I spend a week with a Japanese female race car driver, a Buddhist priest, a Federal Reserve VP, and a documentary filmmaker? USJLP, that’s where! I have already begun to collaborate with some fellows to implement some project ideas and I’m sure many others of us are doing the same. Here are some of my highlights of the week:• Best Conference Session: “My Story” by Keisuke Matsumoto, where he told us why a Buddhist priest
would obtain an MBA and how he developed a marketing plan for his temple in Tokyo. His totally heartfelt and admittedly random delivery made this the most
“The diversity of our class made it imperative to
speak to as many diff erent people
as possible during the week and I feel I have made many
lifelong friends.”
Daisuke Iwase and Lolita Jackson sharing thoughts and conversation over dinner in Kyoto
night and day for a full week. Thanks to George, Takuma-san and the team for organizing an unforgettable week!
Lolita Jackson (10,11)
I to expect. I happily came away from this year’s transformed: from the hospital-ity shown by our Japanese hosts, the great sessions, the fabulous sights, sounds and tastes [with lots of nijikai and sanjikai] and the intense bonding. The diversity
From top down: Delegates head over to Miyajima by ferry boat from Hiroshima Memorial Peace
park. Front: Atsuko Nishigaki (11,12), Maki Tanaka (11,12), Ann Kim (11,12), and Eric Nonacs (04,11). Back: Keiko Ihara (11,12) and Shigeki Sugii (11,12);
Terumichi Tawara (10,11), Keisuke Masumoto (11,12) and Chris Calabia (10,11) with a new deer
friend in Nara;
Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki of Hiroshimaaddresses delegates at the Sheraton Hiroshima;
Delegates pose with the Himeji castle mascot. Left to right: Yu Miyaji (10,11), Norihito Kubota (10,11), John Blake (10,11), Ann Kim (11,12), and Spencer
Abbot (10,11).
5Japan 2011 Refl ections
engaging session by a delegate. The best session by an outsider took place at the Hiroshima Peace Museum, by a survi-vor of that terrible tragedy. His remarks were quite moving.• Best Food: My vote for best food was okonomiyaki. I had never had it nor heard of it before, and am now on a mis-sion to have it here in NYC. YUM.• Best Bonding Experience[s]: First place goes to our outings in the pouring rain where we rode it out and saw the sights anyway – the gorgeous temples and gardens were a sight to behold, and we appreciated being able to experience them.• Best Nijikai: Friday night karaoke was phenomenal, and almost all delegates attended. The folks who got into it the most were some of the least expected, which I suppose was the point, no?
I look forward to seeing many of you next summer, where I hope to come to Japan to sing some jazz!
Yumiko Kusakabe (11,12)
When I was accepted as a delegate this year, I was so excited to be able to participate in such a prestigious program for leaders in the US and Japan.
However, while attending the conference, I realized the experience completely ex-ceeded my expectations!
I enjoyed this experience at the professional level and personal level thoroughly. The combination of sessions on interesting topics such as sustainability, disaster recovery, security issues, and listening to the first hand opinions from various ex-perts was really exciting. Since I had been actively involved in fund raising efforts for Japan recovery, discussing about disaster recovery, collaboration between the U.S. and Japan, and members’ experience in other disasters and tragedies (such
as 9/11) was relevant and important to me. Sightseeing trips in Kyoto and Nara, hearing an 82 year old atomic bomb sur-vivor’s story, and informal nijikai drinks at night all contributed to a meaningful and memorable lifetime experience.
I was also quite impressed with the quality of the participants, who were not only high caliber professionals but also have great personalities and became good friends. I’m the organizer of the AIPD (“Attractive & Interesting People Dinner”) social network in DC, and
through USJLP I felt like the whole universe for meeting “the attractive and in-teresting” people both in the U.S. and Japan was expanded. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all the organizers of this great program. I really look forward to maintaining this spectacular network and friendship to make it a lifelong one! Thank you USJLP!
2011 delegates weather typhoon conditions for the rare opportunity to tour inside Kyoto’s Imperial Palace.
Yumiko Kusakabe in perfect ‘seiza’ sitting form with a geisha at Arima Onsen in Kobe.
Delegates pause to pay respects at Todaiji Temple in Nara. From left to right: Atsuko Nishigaki (11,12),
Akihisa Shiozaki (10,11), Yu Miyaji (10,11), Yumiko Kusakabe (11,12), and Terumichi Tawara (10,11)
at far right.
Corina Warfi eld (11,12), Sumit Agarwal (10,11) and Rod Lewis (10,11) sit down to a delicious tofu
lunch at Seigen-in (Ryoanji Temple).
6 USJLPers Come Together
Project Iwate RecapBy Yu Miyaji (10,11)
A fter concluding this year’s pro-gram, three delegates and 11 Fel-
lows of the USJLP headed to Rikuzen-takata City, Iwate Prefecture – one of the most severely devastated cities in the Great East Japan Earthquakes and Tsunami Disaster of 3.11 – to take part in volunteer work. The mission, which we named the “USJLP Iwate Project”, came into fruition with the support of many USJLP alumni. I am honored to report on the two special days we spent in Iwate.
On the morning of July 25th, we ar-rived at Rikuzentakata City Volunteer Center, a prefabricated house erected in the rice fields. In front of the build-ing, volunteer workers were lining up to register, collect necessary equipment, and depart for their assigned areas. A staff member from the volunteer cen-ter warned us that it could be very hot and that we should make sure to drink plenty of water, giving us salty candies that would ward off nausea in case of heavy sweating. Then he added, “If you find human remains, call us right away.” According to this staff member, volun-teer workers found human bones while cleaning up mud on the previous day. His warning was a stark reminder that we were inside the disaster area, where almost five thousand people were still missing after three months.
We were assigned to clean up a house
located right on the coast. Rice fields separated the coast and the house, and there were still scattered fishing boats and debris left untouched. The owner of the house, Mr. Shuji Suzuki, 81 years old, was waiting out front and thanked us for coming all the way to help him.
Mr. Suzuki had lived in the large two-story house with his family of three gen-erations for the past 8 years. On March 11th the tsunami reached above the roof and destroyed most of the furniture and belongings inside, but the frame of the house remained intact, probably be-cause it was relatively new and well con-structed.
Since the entire neighborhood fell within the district where the local gov-ernment is prohibiting the building of new residences, Mr. Suzuki explained, “We still have mortgage debt and can-not afford to move to higher ground and build a new house. This is the only place we can live.”
Mr. Suzuki asked the team to clean up debris and mud in the house, dust off high beams, and remove countless small
nails that were sticking out of the beams. Two volunteer groups had done initial clean-up work before us, and all the furniture and larger debris had already been removed. We all spread to dif-ferent rooms and worked continuously
without exchanging words. Although we kept working for about 5 hours straight, except for a brief lunch break, we couldn’t finish all that Mr. Suzuki had requested. The amount of work a family would have to do without help from oth-ers was truly overwhelming. Mr. Suzuki thanked us again and again, bowing and
Kota Yamaguchi removing nails and wire.
Maki Kajiwara sweeps away dust and debris.
USJLPers ready to tackle the day’s assignment - assisting Rizukentakata resident Shuji Suzuki (behind wheelbar-row). “Project Iwate” members, from left to right, back row: Mineko Okamoto (03,04), Yuka Uchida (05,06), Akihisa Shiozaki (10,11), Moriyasu Ito (05,06), Noriaki Hori (04,05), Maki Kajiwara (07,08), Yuko Iizuka (00,09); center row:
Miyuki Yoshida (06,07), Yu Miyaji (10,11), Masako Toki (07,08), Tomohito Shinoda (00), Kota Yamaguchi (07,10); front: Kiyoteru Tsutsui (06,07), Norihito Kubota (10,11).
7USJLPers Come Together
waving as the bus left the house. What we did was such a small contribution to the recovery of the Suzuki family, but it made us feel good to provide even this small amount of assistance.
What made the Iwate Project signifi-cant for the participants was the chance it allowed us to hear the voices of peo-ple who are at the front of the recovery process.
In the evening, after showering, we invited the representative of All Hands Volunteer Japan, Mr. Satoshi Kitaha-
ma, to join us for dinner. All Hands was one of the first volunteer groups to ar-rive in the immediate aftermath of 3.11, and the group is active in many other disaster-hit areas around the world. Mr. Kitahama told us of his experiences in Ofunato, about the difference between the volunteer cultures of the U.S. and Japan, and about the future prospects and recovery of Ofunato.
The Iwate Project was wrapped up with a meeting the next morning with the Governor of Iwate, Mr. Takuya Tasso.
On the the third and final day of the trip, team members had the honor of meeting with the Governor of Iwate, Mr. Takuya Tasso (front center).w
Some of us were personally acquainted with him, which made the meeting in his office very casual and open. Gov-ernor Tasso told us what happened on that fateful day, about the recovery plan for Iwate Prefecture, and of his thoughts on the future relationship between local and national government.
Though our visit was short, the Iwate Project represented a prime example of what the USJLP network can achieve to-gether. On behalf of the participants of the Iwate Project, I would like to thank the USJLPers who couldn’t be there in person but offered their generous sup-port in many other ways.
The Project Iwate team posing in front of the Rikuzentakata Volunteer Center.
USJLPer Global Communication Experts Lead Benkyokai PanelContributed by Hideo Ohashi (08,09)
May’s benkyokai in Tokyo, focusing on global communication in Japan,
was led by three USJLPer experts: (from right to left) Noriyuki Shikata
(01,06), Motohisa Furukawa (05,06), and James Kondo (05,06). Benkyokai
organizer, Hideo Ohashi (far left) moderated the discussions.
E ach May and November, USJLP-ers in Japan organize and hold a
benkyokai (group study session) for a chance to come together for deep dis-cussion on a selected important and timely topic. The last session was held on May 10, just before the pre-confer-ence gathering in Tokyo, allowing for an exceptional number of people to join, including George Packard. This was also the first time for newly selected Delegates to interact with USJLP Fel-lows.
Originally the topic was to be “Global Communication from the Prime Minis-ter’s Office.” However, given the events that happened just two months before our meeting, the title was soon changed to include a discussion on the “Great
Eastern Japan Earthquake.”The panelists comprised of Motohisa
Furukawa (05,06), Chief Cabinet Secre-tary at the time of the meeting, as well as Noriyuki Shikata (01,06), Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Relations and Director of Global Communica-tions for the Prime Minister’s Office, and James Kondo (05,06), who had just been appointed to be Twitter’s first Ja-
pan Country Manager.Each of these three persons played
the monumentally important role in se-curing Japan’s credibility post-3/11 by ensuring that the world received a con-stant stream of information in English.
More than 30 fellows and delegates, including Taro Kono (00) participated in this meeting, making it the most suc-cessful benkyokai yet!
8 Announcements
Top Japanese Leaders Accept USJLP
Honorary Advisory Board Positions
Hideo Ohashi (09,10) and George Packard with newly appointed Chairman of the Program’s Honorary Advisory Board, Mr. Minoru Makihara (right).
USJLP Executive Committee Welcomes New Term Members
M r. Minoru (Ben) Makihara, former Chairman of Mitsubishi Corpora-
tion, has agreed to become Chairman of the USJLP Honorary Advisory Board, succeeding Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, who stepped down last fall after eleven years in the position.
Makihara, a 1954 graduate of Har-vard, joined Mitsubishi in 1956 and became Chairman in 1998. In addition to serving on many boards, he is Direc-tor General of Toyo Bunko and is Ja-pan Chair for CULCON, the US-Japan Conference on Cultural and Education-al Interchange.
In addition, Hon. Shinichi Nishimi-ya, Deputy Foreign Minister of Japan, has agreed to serve as a member of the board. Prior to his present assignment, he was Consul General of Japan in New York with the rank of Ambassador, and in that position hosted several gather-ings for Fellows and incoming delegates of the USJLP.
The US-Japan Foundation Chairman Tom Johnson said of these appoint-ments, “we are deeply grateful to Dr. Toyoda for serving as the first chairman of the board at a time when USJLP was no more than an untested concept. And we are lucky indeed to have two new wise and accomplished leaders to help guide us the through the next decade of the program.”
Executive Committee Co-Chairmen Tim Punke (02,05)
Tomohito Shinoda (00)
Fundraising Committee ChairsMay Liang (04,05)
Hideo Ohashi (08,09)
Fellows Network Committee ChairsHeidi Brock (05,08)
Ken Yagi (08,09)
Finance/Audit Committee ChairsKathleen H. Motzenbecker (08,09)
Hidetoshi Shibata (05,06)
Governance Committee ChairsBrent Sadler (07,10)
Kota Yamaguchi (07,10)
Membership Committee ChairsDan Tani (02,03)
Nobuko Kato (05,06)
Program Committee ChairsTom Prata (05,06)
Tosh Minohara (04,07)
A t the end of July 2011, two new Jap-anese chairs were selected and ap-
pointed to the USJLP Executive Com-mitte. Kota Yamaguchi (07,10) assume d the role of Governance Committee chair and Ken Yagi (08,09) has stepped in as the new Fellows Committee chair. Kota and Ken were elected to fill the shoes of Noryiyuki Shikata (01,06) and Yuuko Iizuka (00,09), both of whom ended their two terms with the commit-tee this year.
The 2011-2012 Executive Committee (see right) will convene in Hawaii from February 3-5 to select the next class of rising stars to participate in USJLP 2012!
Newly elected EC members Ken Yagi (left) and Kota Yamaguchi (right)
Hon. Shinichi Nishimiya joins the USJLP Honorary Advisory Board.
9Announcements
USJLP Capital Campaign: Moving Forward!A special message from George Packard
I am pleased to report that USJLP Fel-lows on both sides of the Pacific have
responded with enthusiasm to our calls for voluntary contributions to the capital campaign aimed at raising $5 million. You will recall that we are seeking $1 million from Fellows of the Program between now and 2015, as well as $2 million from Japanese corporations and friends of the program, and $2 million from American donors. As of October 5, 2011, Fellows on both sides have either contributed or pledged roughly $420,000, and we are deeply grateful to you. Other donors have given or pledged roughly $1.8 million. So we are off to a great start.
You will further recall that we ended the dues program in 2008. The reason for ending it was this: dues collected were used for the next year’s operating budget. Our board of trustees felt that it would make more sense to ask for voluntary contributions that could be in-vested like an endowment fund, the in-terest from which would be used to help cover annual operating costs. In this
2012 Application Season Is Upon Us!USJF needs your help in
recruiting rising stars from all regions and back-
grounds!
The Foundation will be accepting applications for
the 2012 and 2013 conferences until Friday,
December 16, 2011.
Candidates are encouraged to email PDF
applications!
Full application require-ments are now online at
www.usjlp.org.
way, we could secure the program’s long term future against rising costs. Those who paid what we formerly called “life-time dues” of $2,000 can rest assured that their contributions are invested alongside the US-Japan Foundation’s investments and are today earning the same income as the other Foundation assets.
We are deeply grateful to the Mitsubi-shi Corporation for its leadership gift of 10,000,000 yen over five years, and we will be asking both Japanese and Ameri-can Fellows to help us identify other corporations and individuals who might be interested in making this kind of long term investment in the future of closer relations among the leaders of our two nations.
We know and respect that fact that our diverse USJLP Fellows have very different capacities for giving. We sim-ply hope that all who have enjoyed the program will contribute something, any-thing, as a sign of their confidence in the value of the program and in the future of the relationship.
Mrs. Yoshihiko Noda, wife of Japan’s Prime Minister, visited the September 11 Memorial in New York on September 21, accompanied by USJF Chairman Tom Johnson (right) and Lee Ielpi (left), President of the September 11th Families
Association and Co-Founder of the Tribute WTC Visitor Center, both of whom lost their sons on September 11, 2001. USJLP Fellows are named Scott M. Johnson Fellows in memory of Tom’s son, Scott. In the rear: George Packard.
Announcing New Paypal Option for Contributions by
Credit Card
Contributions can be made in either USD or JPY
via credit card or linked bank account.
Paypal registration is not required for credit card
contributions.
Please contact your Secretariat for a
“donate” link to use to complete your contribu-
tion online!
10 News and Updates
Annalisa Barrett (10,13)I have recently completed my transition to academic life and am now teaching full-time at the University of San Diego in the School of Business Administra-tion. I am teaching graduate and un-dergraduate courses in Corporate Gov-ernance and Finance. The campus is beautiful, so please let me know if you are ever in Southern California!
John Blake (10,11) John joined Morrison & Foerster, LLP in San Francisco back in May. In the little bit of free time he had before his new job started he organized a gathering for USJLPers in the Bay Area (photo below)!
Heidi Biggs Brock (05,08) After 18 years at Weyerhaeuser, I will be embarking on a new opportunity as President of the Aluminum Associa-tion, starting October 1st. The Associa-tion is based in Arlington, Virginia, and works globally to promote aluminum as the most sustainable and recyclable automotive, packaging and construction material in today's market. The Associa-tion represents U.S. and foreign based primary producers of aluminum, alumi-num recyclers and producers of fabri-cated products, as well as industry sup-pliers. I'm particularly excited about the
industry's commitment to sustainability which is documented in its first Industry Sustainability report released in mid-September. I look forward to seeing you all in Seattle in 2012!
Mark Brzezinski (06,07) A White House press release on Sep-tember 7 announced President Obama’s intent to nominate Mark to become the next Ambassador to Sweden!
Jason Dean (11,12)The Butler Snow Advisory Services group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mississippi’s largest law firm, recently acquired my public policy consulting
firm, Fidelis Policy Group, LLC. My new title will be Senior Vice President for Economic Policy and the focus will continue to be setting public policy that leads to more and better paying jobs in the State of Mississippi.
Paul Fleming (08,09)Last April Paul was appointed by Unit-ed States Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to serve as a member of the National Climate As-sessment Development and Advisory Committee. The Committee is tasked with producing a National Climate As-sessment for the United States, which will serve as a status report on climate change science and impacts, and inform the United States' understanding and ability to adapt to the changing climate system. Paul's term on the Committee will be three years.
Motohisa Furukawa (05,06)On September 2, Motohisa was offi-cially pointed to five new simultaneous positions and is now Japan’s new: Minis-ter for National Policy, Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy, Minis-ter of State for Science and Technology Policy, Minister for Total Reform of So-cial Security and Tax, and Minister for Space Policy.
Jared Genser (09,10) It is with much excitement and anticipa-
Auren Hoffman (06,09) with his bride Hallie Michell on July 3, 2011.
News & Updates
Bay Area USJLPers came together in San Francisco on June 9. From left to right: Nicole Chabot (01,02), Masako Toki (07,08), Jiro Yoshino (09),Anne Craib
(00,01), Eric Nonacs (04,11), John Blake (10,11), and
Ambassador Hiroki (front left) and Consulate staff graciously hosted a NY gathering at the Ambassador’s
private residence on June 14.
USJLPers and USJF staff in atten-dance included: Takeshi Ueshima
(01,02), Tom Johnson (USJF Chairman), Kengo Watanabe
(03,04), Matt Pottinger (10,11), Lolita Jackson (10,11), Stefan
Pryor (11,12), Kelly Nixon (USJF), TK Nakagaki (02,03), David
Janes (02,03), Eriko Sase (08,09), Lawrence Molloy (04,05), George
Packard (USJF), Takuji Makino (07,08), Hajime Matsuura (10,11),
and Chris Calabia (10,11).
11News and Updates
tion that I write to inform you that as of July 1, 2011, I left DLA Piper to found Perseus Strategies, LLC (http://perseus-strategies.com/). My new firm focuses on serving clients concentrating in the international human rights and humani-tarian space, but also provides general legal, government affairs and strategy consulting services.
In addition, I will continue to serve as president of Freedom Now (www.free-dom-now.org), which works to free pris-oners of conscience worldwide. I have been very gratified at its exciting growth over the past few years and it is now up to four full-time staff and a $2.5 million annual budget.
In short, there are exciting times ahead! I look forward to finding new and creative ways that we might work together.
Michael Goldberg (08,09)Following in the footsteps of my fellow 08/09 delegate Doug Raymond, I too am moving my family from the U.S. to Asia. I am heading a bit further west of my USJLP friends in Japan (and of Doug in China) and will be moving to Hanoi in January on a Fulbright fellow-ship to teach entrepreneurial finance at the National Economics University. I have also joined a Chinese venture capi-tal firm (Kaiwu Capital) as a senior ad-visor so I will be making frequent trips to China. We would love to have any
visitors from Japan or the US who might be passing through and want to share a bowl of pho in Hanoi!
Alexandra Harney (08,09)We'll be moving to Beijing shortly so that I can start the Blakemore Freeman fellowship at Tsinghua University. From late next year I'll be in Tokyo as a Coun-cil on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow. I look forward to catch-ing up with the USJLP family in Japan!
Chris Howard (04,05)I am glad to report Hampden-Sydney College alumni including, Hideo Yanai ’93, a native of Japan, participated in the America Expo 2011: U.S. College Fair and Seminars on July 30, which fea-tured information for Japanese young people (high school and undergraduate students) interested in studying in the U.S. The fair had booths for university representatives and other organizations supporting study in the U.S. to engage with event participants and display their promotion materials. The information seminars covered a variety of topics, including how to choose a school, the application process, financing an edu-cation, and career opportunities after graduation. Hampden-Sydney College was the only institution that made a se-rious effort to produce handouts and signs in Japanese!
Brendan Kelly (11,12) A few days after returning from this year's USJLP in Kyoto, I took my now fiancée, Valerie Edwards, on a surprise trip to Paris, ostensibly as a post-Bar exam celebration. Maintaining the ele-ment of surprise, I attempted to ask her to marry me in French - generating some initial confusion - but when I repeated in English, Valerie said "oui!" and we spent four wonderful days celebrating in Paris. After hearing so much about the USJLP, Valerie was excited to meet sev-eral delegates and fellows at a Septem-ber 15 engagement celebration in DC organized by Yumiko Kusakabe (11,12)
and capped off with a toast by Dr. Pack-ard. Nijikai, led by Ken Kaihara (10,11), followed in true USJLP spirit. Valerie studied Japanese in college, and looks forward to expanding her language abil-ity beyond the phrase "kutsu wa doko desu ka" at a future Fellows Weekend - hopefully in Seattle next year.
Rod Lewis (10,11)This past summer was a whirlwind of exciting events. First, I found out that I had been given the honor to serve as a 2011-2012 White House Fellow. Sec-ond, we had the USJLP conference and right after I returned from Japan it was time to make the move from Washing-ton State to Washington, DC. This trip was truly a family adventure, my in-laws traveled with us and they had a great
Rod Lewis and his family, Mechelle, Trace (12) and Madison (11), arrive in D.C. in style!
Chris Howard, appointed by President Obama to the National Security Education Board in June, receiving
his board certificate from Ms. Lynn Simpson, Chief of Staff, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for
Personnel and Readiness and National Security Educa-tion Board chair.
Brendan Kelly (11,12) with fiancée Valerie right after their très chic engagement in Paris! Félicitations!
12 News and Updates
time bonding with the kids. This Fellow-ship is a tremendous honor for me and my family and I'm so excited to work with extremely talented and dedicated people as we learn how our government works at the highest levels. I look for-ward to an exciting year learning more about leadership and service to our Na-tion.
May Liang (04,05) May was recently named a trustee for the Sidwell Friends School, a PK-12, co-educational Quaker day school with campuses in Washington, D.C., and Bethesda, Maryland. Founded in 1883, the School is a nonprofit, tax-exempt institution governed by an independent Board of Trustees.
Ganesh Mochida (09,10) Earlier this year I was promoted from Instructor to Assistant Professor of Pe-diatrics at Harvard Medical School. This new appointment allows me to develop my own independent research program in genetics of human brain de-velopment, and I am truly excited about
the opportunity.
Lawrence Molloy (04,05) Lawrence has taken a business devel-opment position with Hot Dry Rocks a geothermal consultancy in Melbourne Australia. The firm is a global leader in exploration, mapping and modelling of geothermal energy. Part of this work involves working with google.org who have listed geothermal as one of their priority energy areas.
Lawrence's responsibility also in-cludes expanding their work in Japan.
Since the Tohoku earthquake geother-mal has become an emerging area of interest throughout Japan as a people and as a government. Social concern remains over the competing interests of the onsen issue.
On his upcoming trip to Japan he will be bringing his wife and daughter who are excited about their first trip to Japan.
Kathleen Houlihan Motzenbecker (08,09) I was recently chosen as one of 35 in-dividuals for the 2011-2012 Policy Fel-lows program at the University of Min-nesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs. The program prepares Minnesotans from all professional sec-tors to bring a greater understanding of public affairs into their leadership roles and was originally started by Vice President Walter Mondale in 1990. I currently serve as the Director of Mem-bership at the Minneapolis Downtown Council, the city’s top business associa-tion that is leading the coordination of the new Downtown 2025 Plan. This Fel-lowship is a great way to get involved in the academic community of Minnesota and to learn more about the great tradi-tion of politics here!
Mika Ohbayashi (05,06)In September Mika started a new posi-tion as Director of the Advocacy and Grant Programme at the Japan Renew-able Energy Foundation in Tokyo.
A crowd of nearly 375 people witnessed Barrye Price (02,03) receive his promotion to Brigadier General during a ceremony on June 17, 2011 at ceremonial Cadet Park in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Pictured in the above photo are:
Lieutenant General Benjamin C. Freakley (Commanding General, US Army Accessions Command), William Garrison Price, Brigadier General Barrye L. Price, and Dr. Tracy L. Price. USJLP Fellow, Chief Chris Moore (02,03) participated in
Barrye’s ceremony.
USJLPers came together at Wild Ginger
in Seattle on May 5.
Back: Tom Prata (05,06), Jane Kang (05,06), Tim
Punke (02,05), Ben Pack-ard (08,11), Rod Lewis
(10,11), John Creighton ( 02,03) , Miyuki Yoshida
(06,07)
Front: Tom R obertson (06,09), James Williams (00,03), George Packard,
Robert Kaihura (09)
13News and Updates
Stefan Pryor (11, 12) In September, Stefan was appointed Connecticut's new education commis-sioner. Stefan was formerly the deputy mayor of Newark, NJ, focusing on eco-nomic development. Before that, he was the founder of Amistad Academy, a New Haven charter school that has be-come a model for schools in other cit-ies. He also headed the education team for the Partnership for NYC and trav-eled to Haiti with New Orleans Schools Superintendent Paul Vallas to help with plans for rebuilding post-earthquake.
Doug Raymond (08,09)After 5 years at Google, I recently left to found Julu Mobile, a mobile advertising company based in Shanghai. Our plat-form provides Chinese users with useful, relevant ads based on our proprietary
technology - and makes publishers of mobile content more money too! We're working with a few iPhone and Android application publishers to test our system now, and are looking for more mobile publishers, inside or outside of China, to work with us to increase their revenue in China. Our small but growing team is grateful to have several USJLP fellows among our investors - thank you! More information is on our website, www.ju-lumobile.com. Hope to see everyone in Seattle next year!
Yayoi Shionoiri (10,11) I greatly appreciated the opportunity to return as a delegate to this year's USJLP. It was heartening to palpably recognize that friendships across nations and cul-tures can help to lessen the burdens caused by difficult climate circumstanc-es besetting Japan and other parts of the world. Many thanks to the leadership and vision of Dr. Packard, Takuma-san, Aya and Kelly for another fantastic week. After three years of working for artist, Takashi Murakami, in September I started working at the Guggenheim Museum as Assistant General Counsel.
Yuka Uchida (05,06) On August 15 I started a 4-month long fellowship with the Brookings Institu-tion, Center for East Asian Policy Stud-ies (CNAPS) in Washington, DC. My main work is to produce a paper on how political instability is affecting Japanese
David Janes (02,03) and Jiro Yoshino (09) met with Dr. Shinya Nakayama in Boston on June 9, 2011. Dr.
Nakayama is the 2011 winner of the Kyoto Prize and a leading scientist in Stem Cell research.
foreign and defense policies by the end of the term. There are also fellows from China and South Korea who are in this same fellowship and we are all excited to be at such an academically indepen-dent and thought stimulating environ-ment.
Marc Walwyn (02,03)We regret having not crossed the Pa-cific for Kobe this year but our atten-tion was drawn to Madagascar where we finalized the adoption of Josiah who was 18 months old when we took custody of him in April of 2011. Taking him back to the US was quite complicated but we are all settling in now. Here is a photo taken of him in June.
Of course, we were shocked and sad-dened by the devastation caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake. A couple of days after the quake, I called Cousin (Masakazu Hoshima, 02,03) who was calm and confident of his country’s re-silience. I was especially moved by the outpouring of help and community by USJLPers all over the US and Japan to help the effort of healing and rebuild-ing.
Can’t wait to see you in Seattle next summer!
Kota Yamaguchi (07,10)On September 1 Kota jointly estab-lished the law firm Kimura Takushima & Yamaguchi.
Miyuki Yoshida (06,07) I recently became the new board of director for two organizations: The
Meet Josiah, the newest member of the Walwyn family, whose adoption was made official this past April. Welcome to
the USJLP family Josiah! See you in 2040!
USJLPers came together in Tokyo for a big conference week kick-off event at Izakaya Ajito
on July 15, 2011. From left to right: Toshihiro Nakayama
(09,10), Miyuki Yoshida (06,07), Satomi Otsuka (07,08), Saiko Sugiyama (07,08), Nobu
Akiyama (09,10), Lolita Jackson (10,11), Geoffrey Gresh (10,11), Shigeki Sugii (11,12), Ken Yagi
(08,09), Daisuke Takatsuki (09,10), Moriyasu Ito (05,06),
Yu Miyaji (10,11), Hidetoshi Shibata (05,06), Terumichi
Tawara (10,11), Hideo Ohashi (08,09).
14 News and Updates
Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association (OAPABA) and the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Com-merce of Oregon (APACC). As part of my legal practice in renewable energy law and geothermal energy develop-ment, I'm an active member of the Geo-thermal Energy Association (GEA) and Geothermal Resources Council (GRC).
On May 4th, I attended the Geothermal Energy Technology and International Development forum in Washington, DC and surprisingly ran into Lawrence Molloy (04,05) at the conference, who was visiting from Melbourne. I was re-ally glad that he was also able to join our DC gathering the same evening!
Midori Goto (04, 07) gave a stunning violin perfor-mance on March 30, 2011 at University of Maine at Fort Kent as part of her non-profit work, Partners in Performance (PiP). The concert was brought to Fort
Kent (which is, as you know, at the northernmost part of Maine) by Charles Danziger (06, 07), who has a
strong tie to the area. Pictured above are Midori (cen-ter) and Charles (right) with fellow concert attendee
Ganesh Mochida (09,10).
Scenes from ‘Heart of A Soldier’ - a new opera composed by Chris Theofanidis. Chris’ score was described by the New York Times on September 2 as follows: “(The) overall tone is lyrical and flexible tonal, open to the harmonic and
coloristic byways that the drama’s shifting settings and emotions demand.”
Chris Theofanidis recently created a dynamic and soulful score for Heart
of a Soldier, which debuted at the San Francisco Opera on September 10, and ran through September 30. The work is a true story, in commemoration of 9/11. It follows the lives of two soldiers from childhood through that day, and their growth as people, as it centers around the question, “How do we remember the fallen?”
Chris wrote in with his personal thoughts on this critically acclaimed piece of work:
“The more I write music, the more I try to involve myself in projects that have a greater meaning-something more than just the music by itself. ‘Heart of a Sol-dier’ was a real labor of love for all of us involved. At the dress rehearsal, there were 1500 veterans of various wars pres-ent, many of whom recounted personal stories to us about their experiences and
how this work was an important way of honoring of them and their code of liv-ing. One major-general told us that in some small way, this story represented the kind of idealism that he and his fel-low soldiers held as the most important thing about being in the military. For the central character, Rick Rescorla, war was in fact not about killing the en-emy, but about saving the fellow beside you. It was about responsibility to them.
Another central theme of the opera is how you remember the fallen. This is asked on D-Day, in Rhodesia, in Viet-nam, and finally on September 11th. It is answered in a ritual in which you take the very best and most honorable parts of the fallen, and you make them part of your way of living forever forward - you transcend yourself to continue to ‘live’ the best parts of them. It is not a passive memory of them, but an active one.”
USJLPer Composes Opera To Honor the FallenSpotlight on Christopher Theofanidis (02,03)
On July 23 Saiko Sugiyama (07,08) hosted a casual brunch
at her home in Tokyo . Pictured from left to right:
Kiyotaka Sugiyama, Cory Spence (07), Saiko Sugiyama with
Inaho Sugiyama (5 months), Kiyoteru Tsutsui (06,07), Sohen Yamada (06,07), Ganeshwaran
Mochida (09,10), and Rachel Brunette-Chen (06,070) with
daughter Erika (6 months).
Lawrence Molloy and Miyuki Yoshida serendipitously rendezvoued last May through their geo-related work.
15News and Updates
Spots for USJLP 2040 - Going, Going, Gone!
Sumit Agarwal (10,11) Ayla and I love having a daughter. Aria, born on August 31, is very reserved - she hardly cries, doesn’t wake up on her own to eat, and is very content (for the few hours a day she’s awake). Her diet is heavy on dairy right now but she will try sushi and okonomiyaki soon enough!
Meet Aria! She’s already chatting online! http://about.me/ariaagarwal
Beaming big brother Zachary (3) with baby sis Alexan-dra Eden Genser.
Mary Bogan and Carter - ready to help take care of baby brother Walker Dean!
The Punke family - Tim, Lori, Jack (4), and Tucker (2) - bask in the glow of Kiki’s arrival!
Owen James Hensley with proud big sisters Lucy (9) and Stella (4).
Some of the many faces of two week old Louis Beere (son to Alexandra Harney and Colin Beere) .
Jason Dean (11,12) My wife Courtney and I recently had our third (and final!) child. Big brother Carter (4) and big sister Mary Bogan (6) welcomed Walker Lee Dean on July 5, 2011.
Alexandra Harney (08,09)My husband Colin and I are thrilled to announce the arrival of Louis, our son, who arrived in Hong Kong on August 23. One of the first things we did was apply for a passport for Louis (pro-nounced like Louis Armstrong). We had no idea how elusive the passport photo gaze is in a two week-old! Here are a few of the photos that didn’t make the cut (and one that did), taken by my husband:
Tim Punke (02,05)On May 25, Lori and I welcomed the first girl to the Punke Family - Katherine May Punke (“Kiki”). She’s only four months old, but we already have her in an intensive Japanese language course. We’re expecting she will be among the applicants for USJLP Class of 2040. (And speaking of that ... Please spend some time encouraging good candidates to apply for next year’s program. We al-ways get the best recruits from USJLP alum recommendations. Thanks!)
Sarah Spencer White (10,13)Owen James Hensley was born Sep-tember 6, 2011 to proud parents Sarah White (10,13) and Joe Hensley and proud big sisters Lucy and Stella. We are all so glad that he arrived safely after a long summer of bed rest for mama! I hope to get a chance to introduce him to some of the USJLP family before too long.
Jared Genser (09,10) We are delighted to announce the birth of our daughter, Alexandra Eden Genser, born at 3:10pm EST on Sep-tember 8, 2011. Lisa and Alexandra are doing great -- as is new big brother Zachary!
Upcoming USJLP Gatherings
Tokyo BonenkaiFriday, October 28, 2011
6:00pmPrivate Residence of
His Excellency Ambassador Roos
NYC BonenkaiTuesday, December 6, 2011
6:30pm417 Park Avenue
Washington, D.C. BonenkaiFriday, December 9, 2011
Details TBA
USJLP THIRTEENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Seattle, WA
Saturday, July 14 - Saturday, July 21, 2012
FELLOWS WEEKENDThursday, July 19 -
Saturday, July 21, 2012
ANNOUNCEMENTS & SAVE THE DATES
Candidates for the 2012 Conference Please visit: www.usjlp.org/apply.html for an outline of the required materials
and to download the 2012 application cover sheet.
Applications are due by Friday, December 16, 2011.
American candidates should send applications to the Secretariat in New York; Japanese applicants to the Secretariat in Tokyo. Please send any questions to
the email addresses below. We look forward to hearing from you!
New York Office:
US-Japan FoundationAttn: USJLP
145 E. 32nd Street, 12th Fl.New York, NY 10016
Tokyo Office:
US-Japan FoundationAttn: USJLP
Reinanzaka Building 1F1-14-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku
Tokyo 107-0052 [email protected]
