Class of 2023 Announcement and Delegate Introductions (PDF)
The United States-Japan Foundation is proud to announce the Class of 2023 Delegates to the US-Japan Leadership Program (USJLP), a next-gen network of both rising and established thought-leaders, innovators and boundary-breakers in the U.S. and Japan now nearing 500 members since the Program’s inception in 2000.
The Program’s mission is to foster lifelong friendship, continuous dialogue, and greater shared understanding among leaders from a variety of backgrounds and professions in each country. It starts this process by selecting and bringing together approximately 40 Japanese and Americans, ages 28-42, to participate as Delegates to two intensive weeklong conferences (one in the U.S. and one in Japan) over two years. At theses annual conferences, Delegates engage in interactive discussions around current and historical topics of critical importance to understand and cross-examine in the U.S. and Japan, and experience cultural and recreational activities designed to cultivate a deeper appreciation and understanding of the individuals in each cohort and the host country. Towards the end of the conference week, Delegates are joined by Fellows (alumni who have successfully completed two conferences as Delegates) for a two-day reunion that serves to create new and strengthen existing inter-class connections.
In addition to leadership criteria, selections for each USJLP cohort aim to shape the unique delegation of first and second-year participants with a diverse representation of professions, geographic areas, and perspectives. This year USJLP is welcoming 23 incoming first-year Delegates (11 Americans and 12 Japanese) who will join 24 returning second-year Delegates (13 Americans and 11 Japanese) to comprise the Class of 2023 at the Program’s 22nd Annual Conference in Kyoto and Tokyo over July 23-30, 2023. Members selected for the USJLP Class of 2023-2024 will convene again for their second conference in the summer of 2024 in the USA.