JUSFC 50th Anniversary Interview Series
U.S.-Japan Legislative Exchanges: JUSFC and its Grantee Partners
To mark the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission’s (JUSFC) 50-year commitment to strengthening the U.S.-Japan Alliance, JUSFC is featuring the grantee-partners that organize and execute U.S.-Japan legislative exchanges. Promoting legislative exchanges is the third pillar of JUSFC’s strategic framework, reflecting the agency’s recognition that legislative understanding and cooperation between the United States and Japan are essential to supporting and sustaining the U.S.-Japan Alliance and the United States ‘role in the Indo-Pacific. Legislative exchanges create stable, sustained channels for diplomatic and political engagement between elected officials. They function as platforms for Members of Congress and congressional staff to build cross-sectoral partnerships and relationships with Japanese government officials, business leaders, academics, and civil society.
JUSFC is pleased to feature the three leading organizations in U.S.-Japan legislative exchanges: the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE USA), the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress (FMC), and the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. Read More
Darian David, Deputy Chief of Staff & District Director for Congresswoman Carol Miller (WV-01): FMC Legislative Exchange Participant
For 50 years, The Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) has been committed to strengthening the U.S.-Japan Alliance by promoting U.S.-Japan Legislative Exchanges. Legislative Exchanges function as a platform to create robust diplomatic engagement and cooperation between the United States and Japan, as these exchanges enable U.S. Congressmembers to establish the cross-sectoral working relationships with Japanese government, business, academia, and civil society. Over its five decades promoting these exchanges, JUSFC has partnered with several leading partner organizations who structure these legislative exchanges to address timely topics for the U.S.-Japan Alliance. Recent grantee-partners include the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress (FMC), the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE), and The Mike & Maureen Mansfield Foundation.
In recent years, as global issues become increasingly relevant at the local level, JUSFC has extended these exchanges to include District Directors in Members’ Offices to increase understanding of the U.S.-Japan partnership at the local level and increase engagement in the U.S.-Japan community. This article features Darian David, the Deputy Chief of Staff & District Director for Congresswoman Carol Miller (WV-01), who participated in JUSFC-funded 2022 U.S. Congressional District Director Study Tour to Tokyo and Fukuoka, organized by the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress. Read More
Deven Richardson, Director of Existing Business and Community Development for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, JUSFC/CULCON Fall Internship 2020
Throughout the years, the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) has stood committed to advancing cross-cultural understanding between the United States and Japan through the promotion of pathways for professional engagement in U.S.-Japan Relations. Extending this mission to the next generation, the JUSFC/CULCON Internship Program has supported students and young professionals interested in deepening their interest of the U.S. Japan relationship with a paid internship opportunity to develop and improve hands-on skills. Through close mentorship, meaningful responsibilities, and introductions to Japan-related events across Washington, D.C., the program equips emerging professionals with the experience, confidence, and networks that support career paths connected to the U.S.–Japan partnership.
This article features Deven Richardson, a prior JUSFC intern who now serves as Director of Existing Business and Community Development within the Cabinet for Economic Development for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Read More
Dan Spiegel and Megumi Aihara, founders of Spiegel Aihara Workshop, U.S.-Japan Creative Artist Fellow 2024-2025
For fifty years, JUSFC has promoted cultural exchange, artistic collaboration, and strategic dialogue to strengthen U.S.–Japan ties, recognizing that cultural literacy and mutual understanding are vital to diplomacy, economic cooperation, and security. Since 1978, JUSFC has partnered with the National Endowment for the Arts, Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, and the International House of Japan to organize the U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Fellowship Program. The program offers residencies in Japan to American artists. In 2024, five teams of artists were selected to showcase their work at Expo 2025 in Osaka Japan.
This article features a team of two accomplished California architects and educators Dan Spiegel and Megumi Aihara, founders of Speigel Aihara Workshop (SAW). Their showcased work titled: “Looking, After the Fires” is a watchtower structure which represents the responses to both fire and wildfires between Japan and America, providing a cross-cultural insight that examines fire as a symbol of renewal and regeneration. Read More
Krystelle Thomas, Graduate Student: 2023 JUSFC Summer Institute Alumni
Over the past five decades, the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) has strategically invested in developing human capital. Through its grants, JUSFC has helped build critical knowledge infrastructure within U.S. institutions, preparing future generations to advance U.S. interests in the Indo-Pacific. Similarly, the JUSFC Summer Institute directly advanced U.S. national interests by training undergraduate students through intensive academic programming and immersion in Japan.
This article highlights Krystelle Thomas, a young American who participated in the JUSFC Summer Institute in 2023. She earned her bachelor’s degree in the U.S. and later went to Germany to pursue a master’s degree and gain professional experience. Read More
Cameron McKinney, Artistic Director, Kizuna: U.S.-Japan Creative Artist Fellow 2019-2020
For fifty years, JUSFC has promoted cultural exchange, artistic collaboration, and strategic dialogue to strengthen U.S.–Japan ties, recognizing that cultural literacy and mutual understanding are vital to diplomacy, economic cooperation, and security. Since 1978, JUSFC has partnered with the National Endowment for the Arts, Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, and the International House of Japan to organize the U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Fellowship Program. The program offers residencies in Japan to American artists. In 2020, inspired by the 2020 Olympic Games, JUSFC selected American and Japanese artists partner together to collaborate on cultural projects and create new works.
This article features Cameron McKinney, a New York-based choreographer, dancer, and educator who participated in 2019-2020 U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Fellowship Program. Cameron McKinney is the founder and artistic director of Kizuna Dance presenting and teaching dance across the United States and abroad. He is advancing contemporary dance while cultivating a deeper understanding of Japanese culture and Japanese language. Read More
The United States Japan Exchange & Teaching Program Alumni Association
For five decades, JUSFC has made vital contributions to promoting U.S. national interests, peace, prosperity, and security in the Indo-Pacific by supporting the U.S.-Japan Alliance. In this article, we feature the United States Japan Exchange & Teaching Program Alumni Association (USJETAA), meaningfully contributing to sustaining knowledge infrastructure of Japan across U.S.
“JUSFC’s institutional support is a foundation in helping USJETAA evolve from a new and small organization into a more sustainable national organization with infrastructure,” noted Jessyca Livingston, Executive Director, USJETAA.
Founded in 2015 as a non-profit organization, USJETAA supports the alumni community of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program *1. The U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON) recognized the essential role of JET alumni in advancing the U.S.-Japan partnership. Based on its recommendation, USJETAA was envisioned as a national organization to connect more than 40,000 JET alumni and the 19 JET Alumni Associations across the United States. Read More
The U.S.-Japan Bridging Foundation (日米交流財団) —
For fifty years, JUSFC has worked to strengthen the U.S.–Japan relationship, advancing America’s security and prosperity by equipping future leaders with essential knowledge of Japan. Through its institutional grants, JUSFC has built critical knowledge infrastructure across U.S. organizations, fostering the next generation of leadership in education to serve U.S. interests. In this article, we explore the story behind the U.S.-Japan Bridging Foundation, which has played a transformative role in promoting educational exchange between the two nations.
“The Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission is a focal point for the U.S.-Japan relationship.” says Dr. Tom Mason, Executive Director of the Bridging Foundation.
Founded in 1998 at the recommendation of the U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON), the Bridging Foundation was created by JUSFC to address a significant imbalance of student mobility between Japan and the United States during this period: while approximately 46,000 Japanese students were studying in the United States, only 2,000 American students were studying in Japan. Read More