Leadership Program

All responses to the following written prompts must be submitted in English. We recommend preparing your responses to the following written prompts in advance, noting the character limit for each, and pasting them into the application form when you are ready to apply.

Interest Statement

Compose an essay that explicitly addresses the following questions in English (maximum length: 4,000 characters or approximately 600-700 words):

1. What has inspired you to apply to the US-Japan Leadership Program?
2. What do you hope to better understand or explore through USJLP?
3. What will you bring to the USJLP network/community as a member?

100-Word Professional Bio

Prepare a brief professional bio, written in the third person, of approximately 100 words (maximum 750 characters, including spaces and punctuation). If selected for USJLP, this bio—or an updated version—will be published on our website's Class announcement page and included in conference materials.

Beyond the Bio Q&A

To help us get to know you beyond your professional bio, please compose answers to the prompts below in 1–3 complete sentences (maximum 500 characters, including spaces and punctuation per response):

1. Outside of work, I’m energized by...
2. My day-to-day work, in plain language...
3. What motivates me to do this work...
4. An experience that shaped how I see the world today...
5. A perspective, experience, or field I’m especially eager to learn more about from this group...
6. If we get into a conversation at the conference, ask me about…

Additional context on these questions is available in the application form. If selected for USJLP, your responses will be included in your Delegate profile in conference materials shared only with USJLP members. These responses will not be posted publicly on the USJLP website.

What you would bring to the conversation

If you were invited to give a short TED-style talk to other USJLP Delegates, what would you speak about?

Provide a title and a brief explanation of the idea, experience, or perspective you would want to share and why you think it would be meaningful or interesting to the group. Maximum length: 500 characters, including spaces and punctuation.

Prepare a brief (maximum length: 3 minutes) video as if you’ve already been selected and are introducing yourself to USJLP members for the first time. Use this opportunity to share anything about yourself, your life, or your work. The video should be straightforward and authentic; high production value is not necessary. Successful candidate videos will be shared with the cohort as a way for Delegates to get to know one another prior to the conference.  

At least one personal referral must be submitted on your behalf through the separate USJLP Candidate Referral Form.

• A maximum of two (2) Personal Referrals can be submitted.

• Please be prepared to input the name, job title/affiliation, and email address of the person who will be serving as your Primary Referral (and Secondary Referral, if applicable) when filling out the online application form.

The USJLP Application Submission Form collects the required components of your formal application, along with additional information used in the evaluation process. Please review the form carefully before beginning.

Submit the form only once, after you have prepared your CV/Resume, Personal Statement, and Self-Introduction Video.

The form will also ask for the full name, email address, and professional title of the person providing your Personal Referral (primary and, if applicable, secondary).

Finally, be prepared to complete the Candidate Q&A Corner at the end of the form. Please review these questions in advance to allow time for thoughtful responses.