The Stanford University Scholars Program for Japanese High School Students or “Stanford e-Japan” is an online course sponsored by the Yanai Tadashi Foundation and the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), Stanford University. This online course teaches Japanese high school students about U.S. society and underscores the importance of U.S.–Japan relations. Through Stanford e-Japan, ambassadors, top scholars, and experts throughout the United States provide web-based lectures and engage Japanese high school students in live discussion sessions called “virtual classes.” Stanford e-Japan is now in its 9th year and 16th session overall.

On January 19, 2023, 28 high school students across Japan were notified of their acceptance to the Spring 2023 Stanford e-Japan Program. The online course officially begins on Monday, February 13, 2023, and runs until June 30, 2023. It will include students representing the following prefectures: Aichi, Chiba, Fukuoka, Gunma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Kanagawa, Kyoto, Mie, Miyazaki, Nagano, Niigata, Osaka, Saitama, Shizuoka, and Tokyo. In addition to a diverse geographical representation within Japan, the students themselves bring a diverse set of experiences to the program, many having lived overseas in places such as Belgium, China, Egypt, Ireland, the Philippines, and the United States.

The selected Stanford e-Japan high school students will listen to lectures by renowned experts in the field including Professor Emeritus Peter Duus, Professors Kathryn Gin Lum and Dr. Kenji Kushida (Stanford University), and Professor Phillip Lipscy (University of Toronto) on topics such as “The Atomic Bombings of Japan,” “The Attack on Pearl Harbor,” “Religion in the U.S.,” “Silicon Valley and Entrepreneurship,” and “U.S.–Japan Relations.” Live virtual classes include guest speakers such as Ms. Suzanne Basalla (U.S.-Japan Council), Mr. Vincent Flores (EducationUSA), and Mr. Tameyasu Anayama (Aamilia, LLC).

Many Stanford e-Japan students in the current cohort (as well as past ones) have mentioned their desire to study in the United States. The Stanford e-Japan Program equips many students with the motivation and confidence to do so, in addition to many of the skills they will need to study at U.S. universities and colleges. In addition to weekly lectures, assignments, discussion board posts, group projects, and virtual classes, the program participants will complete a final research paper on a topic concerning U.S. society or the U.S.–Japan relationship.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, some students decided to postpone their dreams of studying outside of Japan,” commented Brown. “Recently, however, interest in attending college in the U.S. seems to be on the rise again, and I’ve encouraged my students to look into the Yanai Tadashi Foundation Scholarships as a means to help make these dreams a reality.”

Stanford e-Japan is one of several online courses for high school students offered by SPICE, including the Reischauer Scholars Program, the China Scholars Program, and the Sejong Korean Scholars Program. For more information about Stanford e-Japan, please visit stanfordejapan.org.

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