PRESS RELEASE

MAY 13, 2013

No. 892

2,300 American Students Visit Japan to Experience
Japanese Culture and Regional AttractivenessStarting from May 12 as KAKEHASHI Project –the Bridge for TomorrowThe Japan Foundation implements a youth exchange project between Japan and the U.S., as part of the YouthExchange Program with North America promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, and a total of
4,600 students will participate in this project (dispatch of Japanese students to the U.S./ invitation of American
students to Japan), beginning from Japanese fiscal year 2013.
In the invitation part, 2,300 American students in total, ranging from junior high school to graduate school, areinvited to a 10-day study tour to Japan. During their stay, they are scheduled to travel to Tokyo and local areas,and visit Japanese host schools. They will experience at first hand various aspects of Japanese culture, visit
historical heritage and local industries unique to the regions, and participate in the school exchange andhomestay programs.
The project aims to deepen U.S. citizens’ understanding of Japan and strengthen outbound announcements. It
also intends to cultivate future leaders who will take the initiatives in Japan-U.S. exchange.
■Invitation in May 2013: 4 groups/ 387 students
１． University Group1 (50 participants)
Institutions: Murray State Univ.(KY) and Kent State Univ.(OH) Period: May 12 - 21
Visit to: Hyogo Prefecture (May 14 - 18)
２． University Group2 (50 participants)
Institutions: Univ. of Wisconsin-Oshkosh(WI) and Rice Univ.(TX) Period: May 15 - 24
Visit to: Chiba Prefecture (May 17 - 21)
３． University Group 3 (100 participants)
Institutions: George Mason State Univ.(VA), Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison(WI) and City Univ. of New York(CUNY, NY) Period: May 21 - 30
Visit to: Kanagawa and Kyoto Prefectures (May 23 - 27)
４． High School & University Group 1 (187 participants)
Institutions: Foreign Language Immersion and Cultural Studies School (FLICS, MI), Adrian Schools(MI),Calloway County High School(KY), Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts(AR), Miami
Palmetto Senior High School(FL), A. J. Dimond High School(AK), Colorado Japanese Language
Education Association(CO) and Riverside Community College District(CA) Period: May 27 - June 5
Visit to: Hokkaido Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Aichi, Fukuoka and Kagoshima Prefectures (May 30 - June 2)
In May, the students will visit eleven prefectures (Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Chiba, Kanagawa, Aichi,Hyogo, Kyoto, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima).
KAKEHASHI Project –The Bridge for Tomorrow“KAKEHASHI Project –The Bridge for Tomorrow-”, promoted by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA),
aims to revitalize and boost Japan’s economy, heighten potential interest in Japan, and increase the number ofoverseas visitors to Japan, as well as enhance international understanding of the Japan brand, including Japan’s
strengths and attractiveness, e.g., “Cool Japan“, and Japanese-style ”values”. As part of this program, theJapan-U.S. Educational Commission (Fulbright Japan), which was contributed the funds by MOFA,
commissioned the implementation of the Japan-U.S. youth exchange project to the Japan Foundation incooperation with Japan International Cooperation Center and the Laurasian Institution.
【Contact】 The Japan Foundation Youth Exchange Bureau
Persons in charge: Mr. Furuya and Mr. Ohnishi
TEL：+81-3-5369-6022 FAX：+81-3-5369-6042〒160-0004

東京都新宿区四谷 4-4-1
www.jpf.go.jp