TOKYO — The United States Foundation announced its latest round of grants awarded in late 2023 and early 2024.
The projects funded cover a wide variety of themes, including support for: news coverage of Japan’s cutting-edge response to shared challenges such as aging and disaster recovery; exchange programs for low-income students in both countries; documentaries on the dangers of xenophobia as told through the little-known narrative of Japanese American draft resisters in World War II, and on diplomacy through the prism of baseball.
The full list can abe found here:
https://us-jf.org/programs/grants-awarded/
“The grants awarded illustrate the depth and breadth of the bilateral relationship, and the diverse ways that our nonprofit partners can have an impact in each country,” said USJF president Jacob M. Schlesinger. “They also reflect the Foundation’s move to update its mission and focus, to tackle new, emerging challenges facing our two nations,” he added.
The latest round of grants includes two separate exchange programs that invite participants from South Korea to join American and Japanese members, supporting efforts to project the bilateral relationship by bolstering ties with other allies. Other grants fund work aimed at enhancing U.S.-Japan cooperation in economic security, and in promoting commercial transparency and the rule of law around the Pacific. One grant recipient is exploring challenges to the alliance from the rise of isolationism in American politics.
The Foundation is currently accepting applications to be considered later this year. The deadline for submitting a Letter of Inquiry is June 28. We will assess time-sensitive applications on a rolling basis.
Details for the application process can be found here:
https://us-jf.org/guidelines/application-process/
USJF has given out more than $100 million in grants in the two countries since its founding. The organization works to strengthen bilateral ties and address shared challenges confronting our two nations. An independent, endowed, charitable organization, it promotes research, dialogue, and debate in search of solutions by empowering next-generation leaders, funding innovative initiatives, and catalyzing collaboration across stakeholders.
In addition to giving out grants, the Foundation has for the past 20 years run the US-Japan Leadership Program, a network that has grown to more than 500 American and Japanese policymakers, scholars, entrepreneurs, artists, and activists.
The United States-Japan Foundation is hiring a full-time communications manager to run our website and promote our grants, leadership network, and other activities. The job may also include other administrative responsibilities. We’re looking for an ambitious, flexible self-starter eager to help our organization as we undergo a strategic review, expanding our visibility and impact.
About us:
USJF was founded in 1980 with a mission of fostering deeper understanding and better relations between the two close allies. We are the largest U.S.-based independent grant-making organization in this space, with an endowment of approximately $100 million. This position offers the opportunity to help define and implement our new vision, as well as valuable work experience in the foundation/nonprofit sector.
About the job:
The primary responsibility for this position will be writing and research, keeping our website up to date with fresh content, including profiles of grant projects and members of our US-Japan Leadership Program network. It will also involve launching and managing social media accounts and newsletters. This person will work closely with Foundation leadership and staff to craft strategies for promoting our work and expanding our impact, and will help organize virtual and in-person events.
About you:
Applicants should have experience in English professional writing/research, ranging from short blog items to longer pieces.
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In addition, the successful candidate will have:
- Experience running accounts on X/Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
- Website management experience and the ability to learn quickly new web platforms.
- Legal authorization to work in the United States or in Japan, without the need for sponsorship.
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These skills/experience a plus, but not required:
- Japanese language speaking/writing abilities
- Demonstrable knowledge of Japan, the U.S., and connections between the two countries.
- Event organization
- Knowledge of Canva or other graphic design tools
Location:
Job is remote, and can be based anywhere in the U.S. or Japan. Opportunity for in-person work for candidates in Washington, D.C., or in Tokyo.
Compensation for a U.S.-based employee:
Salary ranges from $50,000-$80,000; responsibilities and pay will be commensurate with the experience of the candidate. Benefits include health, vision, dental insurance; vacation; sick leave; employee-directed 401k.
(Compensation package for a Japan-based employee would be adjusted for local policies and practices.)
Application process:
Send (a) cover letter, (b) resume, and (c) 3-6 writing samples to jobs@us-jf.org with the subject line “Communications Manager application — (your full name)”
Application deadline:
May 3, 2024
Equal Employment:
The United States-Japan Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to any protected class, including but not limited to: race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.
January 8, 2024
The United States-Japan Foundation is running a matching donation campaign to raise funds for recovery and relief efforts in central Japan, following the devastating 7.6 magnitude earthquake there on New Year’s Day.
You can make a donation through our Global Giving page:
https://www.globalgiving.org/fundraisers/usjf-usjlp-quake-relief-recovery/
We will match from our endowment every dollar donated, up to a total of $25,000.
All proceeds will go to Peace Winds America, the U.S. 501c3 arm of a Japan-based organization that has long been a leader in disaster relief efforts in Japan, Asia, and around the world.
TOKYO — Keiko Tashiro, deputy president of Daiwa Securities Group Inc., has joined the board of the United States-Japan Foundation.
Tashiro’s current responsibilities include overseeing the brokerage’s sustainability and overseas operations. She chaired Daiwa Capital Markets America in New York from 2013-2016.
“It is an honor to have the chance to work as a Trustee of the Foundation,” Tashiro said. “I admire how USJF has helped bring the two countries closer and hope to contribute to make it even stronger. I believe it is important for us to learn and share how to build a sustainable society that leaves no one behind.”
“Keiko’s deep knowledge of both finance and socially responsible business practices makes her the perfect addition to our board,” said USJF Chairman Lawrence K. Fish. “We welcome her expertise as we look to maximize the social impact of our spending.”
Tashiro is a vice chair of Keizai Doyukai, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, which is chaired by Tak Niinami, USJF’s vice chairman. She joined Daiwa — Japan’s second-largest brokerage — in 1986, following her graduation from Waseda University. She later received an MBA from Stanford University, and attended the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.
In addition to Chairman Fish and Vice Chairman Niinami, the members of the USJF board are: Wendy Cutler; Richard E. Dyck, Colleen Hanabusa, James M. Kondo, Craig M. Mullaney, Richard J. Samuels, Donna Tanoue, and Takeshi Ueshima.
The United States-Japan Foundation was started in 1980 with a mission of improving relations between the two countries. It has since given out more than $100 million in grants, and oversees the US-Japan Leadership Program with a network of 500 fellows from the two countries.
Contact: info@us-jf.org
TOKYO — The United States-Japan Foundation donated $15,000 to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation to support its “Profile in Courage” Award ceremony jointly honoring Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for their historic rapprochement.
The two leaders took a major step toward strengthening ties as America’s two main allies in the Asia-Pacific during a trilateral summit with President Joe Biden at Camp David in August.
“This moment was possible because the leaders of South Korea and Japan have courageously worked to address sensitive historical issues that have prevented close cooperation,” the Kennedy Foundation said in announcing the honor. The August summit “affirmed the progress made between two of America’s closest allies and set the stage for increasing trilateral cooperation with the United States.”
“It is important for anyone with a stake in the U.S.-Japan relationship to show public support and encouragement for Tokyo’s improving ties with Seoul,” said USJF President Jacob M. Schlesinger. “It highlights the evolving needs of our alliance, and we are proud to lend our Foundation’s name to that effort.”
Caroline Kennedy — currently the U.S. ambassador to Australia, previously ambassador to Japan — is a member of the courage award committee and a former USJF Trustee. She presented the honor at a gala ceremony at the Kennedy Library in Boston on October 29.
The USJF was represented at that event by delegation of fellows in the Foundation’s US-Japan Leadership Program.
Contact: info@us-jf.org
TOKYO — The United States-Japan Foundation announced that it has added to its board of Trustees James M. Kondo, chairman of the board of International House of Japan, an independent foundation that contributes to building a free, open, and sustainable future.
In his four years at International House, Kondo has expanded the organization’s reach and impact, by merging with the think tank Asia Pacific Initiative, establishing the Institute of Geoeconomics, and forging strategic partnerships with Asia Society, Japan Society, India International Center, and other key institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. In the process, the size of the institution has more than doubled in revenue.
Kondo is also a leader in Japan’s technology world, acting as senior advisor for OpenAI, having served previously as chairman of Twitter Japan, and as a special advisor to the Japanese government’s cabinet office.
“The Foundation is thrilled to add to our board somebody with James’s prominence and experience in both countries, his network, his energy, and his creativity. We are privileged to be able to work with him as we reshape our vision and direction,” said board chair Lawrence K. Fish.
“James’s work at International House is an inspiring model for raising the ambition and impact of an organization,” said USJF president Jacob M. Schlesinger. “We look forward to tapping into his expertise as our Foundation aims for a similar transformation.”
Kondo is a Fellow in the Foundation’s US-Japan Leadership Program, having joined the network in 2005-06.
“In the last 20 years, the US-Japan Leadership Program — with its community of fellows — has become the bedrock of US-Japan relations,” Kondo said. “As a proud Fellow of the USJLP, it is a tremendous honor to serve as a Trustee of the US-Japan Foundation. I am inspired by the long-term, future-oriented decisions that the Foundation has made in the past and would like to contribute to helping the Foundation make equally impactful decisions to shape the future.”
Kondo is also a Global Trustee and Co-Chair of the Japan Center at Asia Society, and a Trustee at Keio University, his alma mater. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School, and was a World Fellow at Yale University, and a Visiting Scientist at the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In addition to his participation in the USJLP, James has been a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, an Asia 21 Fellow of the Asia Society, an Inamori Fellow of the Inamori Foundation, and a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow of the Robert Bosch Academy.
Kondo joins on the USJF board: Chairman Fish, Wendy Cutler; Richard E. Dyck, Colleen Hanabusa, Craig M. Mullaney, Tak Niinami, Richard J. Samuels, Donna Tanoue, and Takeshi Ueshima.
Since 2000, the US-Japan Leadership Program (USJLP) has been devoted to creating lifelong friendship, continuous dialogue, and greater shared understanding through a next-gen network of both rising and established thought-leaders, innovators and boundary-breakers in the U.S. and Japan.
Over the course of two summers, some 40 Japanese and Americans, ages 28-42, are brought together as Delegates to two intensive weeklong conferences (one in the U.S. and one in Japan). At these conferences, participants engage in interactive discussions around topics of importance for the U.S. and Japan to understand and cross-examine, and take part in cultural and recreational experiences designed to cultivate a deeper appreciation and understanding of the individuals in each cohort and the host country. After Delegates attend their first USJLP conference, they gain lifelong access to the unique pool of talent, connections and opportunities that membership in the USJLP network makes possible.
Applications are open through January 8, 2024 for candidates who wish to enter the Program as Delegates to the 2024 U.S. and 2025 Japan Conferences. Eligible candidates must hold U.S. or Japan citizenship, be between the ages of 28 and 42 as of the first day of the 2024 conference (July 27, 2024), and have demonstrated leadership in their respective fields.
USJLP aspires to select and convene talented and dedicated individuals with a mix of expertise, personal characteristics, values, and worldviews arising from differences of culture and circumstance. Leaders from every imaginable background are encouraged to apply for USJLP membership. Due consideration is given annually to a diverse representation in the final cohort across lines of gender, race, ethnicity, age, political, regional, social, professional, and educational backgrounds, as well as experience with the other country.
The 23rd Annual Conference will be held in Seattle, WA from July 27 – August 3, 2024. Delegates who start the Program in 2024 are expected to return for their second year at the 2025 Conference, to be held at a TBA time and location in the Japan in July 2025 (planned). Learn more about USJLP conferences here.
To learn more about nominating a prospective young leader and/or how to officially support the candidacy of someone applying for USJLP, please click here.
The application deadline is Monday, January 8, 2024.
Interested candidates are invited to submit a CV, personal statement, brief self-intro video, and up to two (2) personal references. Please visit the USJLP Applications page for complete details and instructions. Applicants will be notified of the results in March 2024.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The United States-Japan Foundation congratulates one of our fellows, US Air Force Lt. Gen Leonard Kosinski, on being awarded the Japanese government’s prestigious “Order of the Rising Sun.”
Kosinski — a 2005/2008 delegate in the foundation’s US-Japan Leadership Program (USJLP) — was cited for “his contributions toward promoting understanding of Japan in the United States and strengthening the relationship between Japan and the United States on national defense.”
Kosinski, 51, is currently director for logistics at the Pentagon’s Joint Staff and a three-star Air Force general. He has spent much of life between the two countries, attending middle school and high school in Iwakuni, where his father, a Marine Corps aviator, was based. He returned to Japan as an Olmsted Scholar to study at Hitotsubashi University and, throughout his military career, has worked closely with Japanese counterparts. Before his current Pentagon assignment, Kosinski served for two years as deputy commander of the U.S. 5th Air Force in Yokota.
“Working closely with the Japan Air Self Defense Force, he enhanced the capabilities and performance of its personnel,” Ambassador Tamaki Tsukada, the deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Japan, said in presenting the award to Kosinski at the August 15 decoration ceremony.
In expressing gratitude for the award, Kosinski called the USJLP network “the most impactful influence” for him on his bilateral work. “There is no single organization with such a talented, accomplished, and amazing group of professionals with a deep understanding of the importance of the U.S.-Japan relationship,” Kosinski added. “Throughout my career, and in particular in my last assignment in Japan, USJLP friends and connections have continued to support, encourage, enable, and greatly advance my work.”
Foundation President Jacob M. Schlesinger called the award “a richly deserved recognition of Leo’s accomplishments — and much more than that. It’s an example of the power of our broad, deep network, and the potential for the USJLP community.” Schlesinger added: “I look forward to working closely with Leo and other fellows as we strive to boost the program’s impact on the world around us.”
For further information, please contact info@us-jf.org
WASHINGTON — The United States-Japan Foundation (USJF) congratulates Arfiya Eri, an alumna of the organization’s US-Japan Leadership Program (USJLP), on her historic election Sunday to Japan’s parliament.
Eri is the first person with Uyghur heritage to run as a major party candidate in a Japanese election. She was elected Sunday to the lower house of the Japanese Diet to represent Chiba prefecture’s 5th district, endorsed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
“We are proud of Arfiya’s milestone victory, and the significance of her support from Japanese voters,” said USJF president Jacob Schlesinger. “She exemplifies the goals and aspirations of our Foundation as we work to support a new generation of diverse and innovative leaders in both countries.”
Eri is a Class of 2018-2019 USJLP Fellow. She was joined on the campaign trail by Taro Kono — a USJLP Class of 2000 Fellow, and a former USJF Trustee — who is currently Japan’s minister of digital affairs.
Eri is a native of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka prefecture and became a Japanese citizen at the age of 10. Her father is a Uyghur engineer educated in Japan. Her mother is Uzbek.
Eri is a graduate of Georgetown University, speaks seven languages, and worked as an official for the Bank of Japan and the United Nations.
“I… represent a much bigger population of Japan that hasn’t been represented before in democracies and in the LDP,” she told the Japan Times in a recent interview, “including women who work, Japanese folks who have grown up abroad, and those who are bilingual and multilingual.”
USJLP was launched in 2000 and has since cultivated a network of nearly 500 leaders from the U.S. and Japan representing a diverse array of sectors and backgrounds. Eri joins five additional USJLP fellows who currently hold seats in Japan’s parliament, including Kono, Keiichiro Asao (2001-2002), Motohisa Furukawa (2005-2006), Akihisa Shiozaki (2010-2011), and Yutaka Arai (2017-2018).
The USJF has been working to foster closer ties between the two countries since its founding in 1980, through the fellowship program and more than $100 million in grants.
The United States-Japan Foundation (USJF) is delighted to announce the appointment of Jacob M. Schlesinger, a distinguished journalist, author, and leader, as its new president and chief executive officer. USJF is the largest independent American foundation dedicated to fostering closer ties between the two countries, with assets of around $100 million.
Schlesinger will oversee the organization’s grants and its US-Japan Leadership Program, while working to boost the Foundation’s impact through new initiatives aimed at shaping the debate over the future direction of the bilateral relationship.
Schlesinger has deep professional and personal ties to Japan. He comes to the helm of USJF after a 36-year career at The Wall Street Journal, moving back and forth between Tokyo and Washington, D.C. He most recently lived in Japan from 2010-2015, where he served as the Journal’s Japan editor and Tokyo bureau chief. He will be based in Washington and visit Japan frequently.
Schlesinger was a member of the Journal team winning a 2003 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism, and the 2014 recipient of Stanford’s Shorenstein Journalism Award, presented annually to a reporter helping global audiences understand the complexities of the Asia-Pacific region. For the past year, he has been a fellow at Stanford’s Distinguished Careers Institute studying threats to democracy in the U.S. and abroad. He is the author of “Shadow Shoguns: The Rise and Fall of Japan’s Postwar Political Machine,” published by Simon & Schuster and Stanford University Press. Schlesinger serves as a trustee of the Japan Center for International Exchange/USA.
“After an extensive search in both Japan and the United States, the USJF Board of Trustees is thrilled to welcome our next president and CEO,” said Lawrence K. Fish, chair of the Foundation’s board. “Jake stood out among many qualified candidates for his deeply rooted appreciation of the U.S.-Japan relationship, his distinguished record of leadership and service, and bold strategic orientation. We cannot wait to see how he will apply his boundless energy and network to fill the Foundation’s ambition for greater impact across and beyond the bilateral relationship.”
“I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to work with such an esteemed organization that has done so much good over the years to foster better ties across the Pacific, and to succeed a long string of distinguished USJF leaders,” Schlesinger said. “I look forward to consulting in the coming weeks with a wide range of stakeholders to discuss how we can think creatively to update our mission and address the new challenges for the U.S, Japan, and the Asia-Pacific region.”
Since its founding in 1980, the USJF has awarded more than $100 million in grants in Japan and the U.S. for a wide range of causes, from cultural exchange to disaster resilience. The Foundation also runs the US-Japan Leadership Program, which, over the past 23 years, has brought together nearly 500 future leaders from both countries, from politicians and business leaders to artists and writers.
Schlesinger is the Foundation’s sixth president, succeeding Dr. James T. Ulak (2019-2022). Prior presidents were: Amb. Richard W. Petree (1981-1988), Amb. Stephen W. Bosworth (1989-1996), Amb. Julia Chang Bloch (1996-1998), and Dr. George R. Packard (1998-2019).
Schlesinger graduated from Harvard College with a BA in economics. He lives in Washington with his wife, Louisa Rubinfien, who grew up in Tokyo, earned her PhD in Japanese history from Harvard University, and teaches Japanese history at the University of Maryland. Rubinfien is on the board of the Japan-America Society of Washington, D.C., and chairs the council for the Japan Bowl, an annual competition for US high-school students studying Japan.
For further information, please contact info@us-jf.org