Fulbright: 60 Years of Building U.S.-Japan Ties

May 25 - This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Japan-U.S. Fulbright Program, and this weekend the Japan-U.S. Educational Commission (JUSEC) commemorated this important milestone in Japan-U.S. cultural relations with a reception and symposium. His and Her Highnesses, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, attended the celebratory reception, together with Mrs. Harriet Mayor Fulbright (widow of Senator J. William Fulbright), Dr. Eiichi Negishi (Nobel laureate and Fulbright alumnus), Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kenichiro Sasae, Ambassador Roos, and many other distinguished guests.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sent her personal congratulations to the reception guests. In addition, highlighting the importance of the Fulbright Program to Japan-U.S. relations, Ambassador Roos noted in his remarks, "The bonds, or Kizuna, we share thanks to the Fulbright Program have contributed to the prosperity, peace, and well-being of not only our two countries but to the entire world."

JUSEC also hosted a public symposium entitled, "Paving the Path - Envisioning the Future." Several hundred students, teachers, and other interested persons attended the all-day symposium at Tsuda College, where they heard Professor Eiichi Negishi deliver a keynote address entitled "From my Fulbright to my Nobel Prize and Beyond - A Message from Now to the Future," and listened to panel discussions focusing on youth civic engagement in post-March 11 Japan, women on the global stage, and the importance of educational exchanges in Japan-U.S. relations. For more information on the symposium, please visit this online site.

The Fulbright program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the State Department and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries. The Fulbright Program provides participants - chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential - with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Since the establishment of the Japan-U.S. Fulbright Program 60 years ago, over 7,200 Japanese and 2,400 American students, scholars, researchers, and educators have participated in this academic exchange program. For more information on Fulbright Japan, including application instructions, please see www.fulbright.jp.