In 2016, SPICE launched its first regional online program in Japan. Today, SPICE works with local partners across Japan to offer programs that engage students in the study of U.S. society and culture, U.S.–Japan relations, and global issues. Students develop their perspectives through discussion and research and present their work at the end of their courses.

In August 2026, SPICE held four award ceremonies at Stanford University. Eighteen honorees from eight regional programs and one school-based program were recognized for their accomplishments during the 2025–26 year, including the quality of their final research projects. SPICE Director Dr. Gary Mukai welcomed guests and delivered closing remarks at each event.

The students’ visits extended beyond the ceremonies. Depending on their itineraries, groups explored San Francisco, toured Stanford’s campus, visited technology companies such as Google, Apple, and Sony, and spent time at the Computer History Museum. These experiences gave students opportunities to learn about the Bay Area and connect what they had studied online with places and people they encountered in person.

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The first ceremony was held on August 6, 2026, for students from Stanford e-Kobe and Stanford e-Minamata. Opening remarks were delivered by Consul Asami Chikae, Consul for Science, Technology and Education at the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco. Stanford e-Kobe instructor Alison Harsch and Stanford e-Minamata instructor Natalie Montecino also offered opening comments before the honorees gave their presentations. The honorees are:

Stanford e-Kobe

• Sakura Oe; Kobe Municipal Fukiai High School
• Shotaro Take; Kobe Municipal Fukiai High School
   

Stanford e-Minamata

• Rento Hiraishi; Minamata High School
• Asuka Umekawa; Minamata High School
   

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In the second ceremony, on August 10, 2026, top students from Stanford e-Fukuoka and Stanford e-Oita were honored. Aya Nakajima, Advisor for Cultural and Educational Affairs at the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, delivered opening remarks. Kasumi Yamashita, instructor of both Stanford e-Fukuoka and Stanford e-Oita, also offered opening comments before the honorees presented their work. The honorees are:

Stanford e-Fukuoka

• Konoha Inoyusu; Fukuoka Daichi High School
• Haruki Kenyon; Kurume High School
   

Stanford e-Oita

• Mao Hieida; Nakatsu Minami High School
• Taichi Morikawa; Takada High School
   

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During the third ceremony, on August 18, 2026, students from Stanford e-Hiroshima and Stanford e-Yamaguchi were recognized. Consul Mayu Hagiwara, Director of the Japan Information and Culture Center at the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, offered opening remarks. Stanford e-Hiroshima instructor Rylan Sekiguchi and Stanford e-Yamaguchi instructor Jonas Edman also gave opening comments before the honorees presented their research. The honorees are:

Stanford e-Hiroshima

• Konatsu Haga; Fukuyama Akenohoshi Girls’ High School
• Momoka Nagayama; Hiroshima Inokuchi High School
   

Stanford e-Yamaguchi

• Misaki Kobayashi; Keishin Senior High School
• Hiroi Tomokawa; Iwakuni Senior High School
   

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The fourth ceremony was held on August 20, 2026, for honorees from Stanford e-Kagoshima City, Stanford e-Kawasaki, and Stanford e-Tottori. Daniel Busto, Coordinator of Educational Affairs at the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, delivered opening remarks. Stanford e-Kagoshima City instructor Amy Cheng, Stanford e-Kawasaki instructor Maiko Tamagawa Bacha, and Stanford e-Tottori instructor Jonas Edman also offered opening comments before the honorees gave their presentations. The honorees are:

Stanford e-Kagoshima City

• Nayuta Nei; Kagoshima Gyokuryu High School
• Shiori Nishizono; Kagoshima Girls’ High School
   

Stanford e-Kawasaki

• Rio Hojo; Tachibana High School
• Mio Suzuki; Kawasaki High School
   

Stanford e-Tottori

• Una Ishikawa; National Institute of Technology, Yonago College
• Asumi Nishimura; Tottori Nishi High School
   

SPICE congratulates all 18 honorees and thanks the instructors, local partners, and guests who supported and celebrated the students. The ceremonies gave the students an opportunity to share their research with an audience at Stanford and to mark the conclusion of their year of study.

Importantly, SPICE is grateful to the school, municipal, and prefectural representatives who accompanied the students to Stanford. They are Yuki Uchimura (Fukuoka); Noriyo Hayashi (Hiroshima); Takahiko Uchitani and Nanami Nomaguchi (Kagoshima); Fuka Okutani and Tracey Freyre (Kobe); Yasunori Takaki, Masha Boyko, and Kayo Fuchigami (Minamata); Keiichi Takakura and Yuki Matsumoto (Oita); Satoru Hamahashi (Tottori); and Akinobu Tomonari (Yamaguchi).

SPICE also offers online courses to U.S. high school students on Japan (Reischauer Scholars Program), China (China Scholars Program), Korea (Sejong Korea Scholars Program), and entrepreneurship (Stanford e-Entrepreneurship U.S.), to Chinese high school students on the United States (Stanford e-China), and to Japanese high school students on U.S. society and U.S.–Japan relations (Stanford e-Japan) and entrepreneurship (Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan).

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The following is a guest article written by Dr. Jacob Vazquez, Interim Associate Dean of Instruction and Agribusiness Faculty member, and past Fellow of Stanford’s EPIC Community College Faculty Fellowship, one of several teacher professional development programs offered by SPICE.

My interest in agriculture started in high school, through my involvement in Future Farmers of America (FFA). That interest deepened later on, working in agriculture finance at Farm Credit, and eventually leading to my current role teaching Agribusiness at Butte College, where I get to share my passion for agriculture and agribusiness with our students.

My involvement with SPICE began through Stanford Global Studies’ EPIC Community College Leadership Program, where fellows were charged with developing global curricula for use in community college classrooms. Butte College is a rural community college in Northern California, where rice is one of the region’s most valuable commodities. I teach Agricultural Economics, a general education class taken by both agriculture majors and non-majors, and I wanted the curriculum modules to connect the agriculture we grow here in Northern California to something produced elsewhere in the world. 

I built the modules around rice, comparing the industry in Butte and Glenn Counties to the industry in Japan. The two differ significantly in scale and farming method, but the crop carries economic and cultural weight in both places. With SPICE’s support and connections with the U.S. Consulate Fukuoka, part of the modules included Zoom interviews that connected students with Japanese rice farmers, including the owner of an organic farm in Saga Prefecture and a former musician who now farms rice and is developing a rice-based ice cream.

Those connections, particularly with the U.S. Consulate Fukuoka, led me to the Fulbright Specialist Program in collaboration with Kyushu Sangyo University (KSU), where SPICE has an existing program through their Stanford e-KyuSan-U Program. This past June, I traveled to Fukuoka as a Fulbright Specialist for a project titled “Seeds of Change: Empowering Community with Food Education.” Over two weeks, the itinerary included close collaboration with KSU students, faculty, and administration, a tour of a rice cracker manufacturing facility, and a public lecture on agribusiness and sustainability, among other events.

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One experience drew on a different part of my background: running a flag football clinic at KSU for local children, drawing on my own experience playing football at Fresno State and coaching at Butte College.

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One of the most meaningful moments of the visit was touring Meisho Farm in person, the same farm my students and I had previously engaged with only virtually. Seeing the operation firsthand with and reconnecting with its owner, Akira Shojima, gave me a much fuller picture of how Kyushu’s organic farming model works, something I never thought I would be able to experience when I started the fellowship. 

I also had the chance to visit U.S. Consulate Fukuoka with Principal Officer Virsa Perkins and KSU Professor Kaori Miura; photo below. What began as a simple curriculum project grew into an incredible experience. I feel so grateful to SPICE, the Fulbright Program, and Kyushu Sangyo University for these opportunities, and I look forward to future collaborations connecting agriculture on both sides of the Pacific.

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In countries far along in the demographic transition, rapidly aging populations are colliding with a severe shortage of health care and elder care workers. Japan may be the most pertinent case study of this and other impacts of demographic disruption. The country’s fertility rate is decreasing faster than projected, and as of 2025, 30% of its population was aged 65 or older. These trends have contributed to a persistent gap between surging demand for elder care and a shrinking care workforce.

To cope with this crisis, the Japanese government has implemented several programs to promote the use of robots in nursing home care. These care robots (or “kaigo robots”) assist care workers and support residents with daily needs. But how does their adoption affect workflows, staff retention, and overall staffing of long-term care facilities? Few studies have empirically examined these questions.

Shedding light on the debate surrounding new automation technologies and their impact on workers, a recent study, published on August 6 in the inaugural issue of the journal Health Affairs Review, finds that care robots help address challenges posed by population aging and care-labor shortages without necessarily displacing workers or lowering care quality.

The study, titled Robots and Labor in the Service Sector: Evidence from Nursing Homes, is part of a collaborative effort driven by the Asia Health Policy Program (AHPP) at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center. The study’s co-authors are Stanford health economist Karen Eggleston, the director of AHPP; Toshiaki Iizuka of the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Economics, a former AHPP visiting scholar; Yong Suk Lee of the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, formerly the SK Center Fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; and Ellie Xi, a rising junior at Stanford studying biomedical computation on the pre-med track and a former research assistant to Dr. Eggleston.

“One of the aspects of the paper that I found most interesting is its attempt to move beyond simply documenting where robots are being adopted and instead ask what their adoption may actually do to the long-term care workforce, especially given the sector’s high turnover rates and physically demanding working conditions,” says Xi.

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Lessons from Early Diffusion of Robotics in the Long-Term Care Sector

The researchers grouped the robots prevalent in Japanese nursing homes into three main categories:

• Transfer aids: Wearable and non-wearable devices that assist staff with lifting frail residents from beds to wheelchairs, significantly reducing back strain, a leading cause of caregiver burnout.
• Mobility robots: Assistive systems that help residents move, use the restroom, or bathe more independently.
• Monitoring and communication systems: Sensors that alert staff when a resident has slipped out of bed or fallen, as well as social robots designed to offer companionship and cognitive stimulation.

To examine early diffusion of these robots, the researchers used 2017 survey data on long-term care work across approximately 860 Japanese nursing homes. A second source of data is their compilation of prefecture-level care robot subsidy availability, using regional variation in robot subsidies as an instrumental variable. Think of this as a natural experiment driven by a “geographic nudge.” Starting in 2015, Japan’s central government began providing prefectural governments with funds to subsidize the cost of adopting care robots. Because different prefectures introduced these subsidies at different times and with varying levels of generosity, nursing homes in some regions had a much easier path to acquiring and deploying robots than those in neighboring areas.

By comparing staffing trends between nursing homes that received this external, subsidy-driven "nudge" to adopt robots and those that did not, the researchers could confidently isolate the technology’s causal effects on the caregiving workforce.

The results indicate that nursing homes that adopted robots saw a significant decrease in staffing retention problems. Robot adoption was also associated with a 28% increase in care workers and a 39% increase in nurses, resulting in approximately 26% higher total employment at the facility level. Importantly, this employment growth occurred entirely among non-regular employees – that is, staff members on flexible, often part-time, contracts. The findings also suggest that robot adoption may improve continuity and quality of care while mitigating careworker shortages.

“Using nationally representative data from Japan and an instrumental-variable strategy, the study provides evidence suggesting that robots can complement rather than simply replace care workers, including by alleviating retention difficulties in a sector facing persistent labor shortages and potentially supporting quality of care,” explains Xi. “The paper’s central finding is that robot adoption is associated with reduced retention difficulties and increased employment of care workers and nurses under flexible contracts.”

A Human-Robot Collaborative Future for Elder Care

Caregiving is a physically demanding and high-stress occupation. The study’s findings indicate that, by introducing robots to ease staff burdens and monitor residents, nursing homes were able to promote more flexible work, either by increasing the tasks performed by non-regular employees or potentially encouraging part-time work. This type of work structure is encouraged by the Japan Nursing Association as a means for reducing stress, preventing burnout, and promoting a healthier work-life balance.

“Given recent debates about AI use in healthcare and the future of work, I found it especially interesting that this research highlights the potential for technology to augment caregivers, particularly by supporting physically demanding or indirect tasks, while preserving the human aspects of care that are more difficult to reproduce,” says Xi.

The study's findings are relevant for policymakers seeking evidence on the social value of collaborative robots and their impacts on staffing and care delivery, particularly as aging societies facing demographic pressures similar to Japan consider how to meet growing demand for long-term care.

A Mentorship Story

The study is part of Eggleston’s Innovation for Healthy Aging research track, which investigates how East Asian economies adopt and adapt to emerging technologies, design incentives, and adjust their workforces to support older adults. It builds on an earlier research project focused on the impact of robots on nursing home care in Japan.

For Xi, co-authoring the paper represents an academic milestone. "As someone deeply interested in geriatrics, I first began working with Dr. Karen Eggleston as a research assistant during the summer after my freshman year," Xi recalls. "Last spring, we decided to continue working together through a directed reading."

During that directed reading, Xi was invited to help revise and update a project that had previously circulated as an Asia Health Policy Program working paper. She worked to update the research, framing the original findings within the rapidly shifting landscape of care robotics and artificial intelligence in long-term care.

"I worked on situating the original findings within more recent research and developments in care robotics and considering what Japan’s experience can tell us about the role of these technologies in aging societies today," Xi says. "It was an incredible opportunity to work closely with Dr. Eggleston, Professor Toshiaki Iizuka, and Professor Yong Suk Lee. I was especially grateful to see firsthand how a collaborative project evolves and to contribute to that process as the paper moved from a working paper toward publication.”

The following reflection is a guest post written by Sunny Park, a Fall 2020 alumna of Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan, which is currently accepting applications for Fall 2026.

A “smart” high school student is often defined by strong grades, perhaps alongside a few extracurricular activities to strengthen university applications. Before encountering Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan (SeEJ), that was largely how I viewed myself. 

I came across SeEJ during the COVID-19 pandemic through a Facebook advertisement. Like many students at the time, I was looking for something more engaging beyond school. I didn’t expect how much it would reshape the way I think about learning, ambition, and possibility. 

What made SeEJ distinct was its focus on people rather than definitions. Each session featured entrepreneurs from different industries, sharing not just what they built, but how they navigated uncertainty, failure, and personal ambition. Seeing such varied paths made me realize that entrepreneurship isn’t a fixed route; it’s a way of thinking. And that was probably the moment when things shifted for me. Until then, I had always thought of my future in fairly narrow terms: choose a subject, go to university, and follow a path that already exists. SeEJ made me realize that there are far more ways to build a life, and that entrepreneurship is less about starting a company and more about taking ownership of what you want to pursue. 

Since then, I’ve found myself saying yes to things I would have hesitated to try before. I’m now in my final year of studying Biology at Imperial College London, and I co-founded a biotech startup called Eidolon Therapeutics. At Eidolon, we’re pioneering microbial protein combinations to combat immunotherapy resistance and inflammation-driven toxicity in cancer. It was through my Year-in-Research program where I met my Co-Founders (i.e., my professor and post-doc supervisor), and I was so fascinated by the research they were conducting I couldn’t help but impatiently suggest building a company out of it. Since then, we’ve been working incredibly hard on making Eidolon real, including joining accelerator programs such as the Cancer Tech Accelerator, Venture Catalyst Challenge, and Conception X. Through building an early-stage startup, I’ve had the chance to meet people I once found intimidating, pitch ideas in front of large audiences, and build relationships that started from simple conversations. 

I don’t think any of that came from a single moment of confidence. If anything, it came from gradually becoming more comfortable with not knowing exactly what I’m doing… and trying it anyway. Based on my journey so far, here are a few reflections for students exploring a similar path:

1. Be intentional about the opportunities you choose.

There are so many opportunities available as a student! SeEJ, in particular, showed me the value of learning environments where you actively engage with ideas and people. There are many programs available, but depth matters more than quantity. Choose opportunities where you can contribute, ask questions, and grow. 

2. Focus on genuine connections!

One of the most valuable parts of SeEJ was the access to people with diverse experiences. What I learned is that meaningful connections come from curiosity and sincerity, not from trying to impress. When you approach people with a willingness to learn, they are often more open than you expect. 

3. Stay engaged beyond the program.

The real impact of SeEJ extended beyond the sessions themselves. Following up with people, continuing conversations, and sharing your own progress helps turn short-term interactions into long-term relationships. Small, consistent effort makes a difference!

4. Reflect as you go. 

Exploring entrepreneurship alongside academics can be exciting but also overwhelming. Taking time to reflect on what you enjoy, what challenges you, and what kind of path you want to build helps you stay grounded and intentional.

Looking back, SeEJ was a turning point not because it provided a single opportunity, but because it changed how I see opportunities altogether. It reminded me that there isn’t one path to follow, but many that you can create. 

Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan is currently accepting applications for Fall 2026. Apply at https://forms.gle/5gkHrhm3X4sycZGG8.

Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan is one of several online courses offered by SPICE.

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