Press Releases

1. From July 8 to 22, 32 high-school students who study Japanese in the United States will visit Japan as part of the program of the Japan Foundation, JET Memorial Invitation Program for U.S. High School Students.

2. This program is implemented in praise of the achievements of Mr. Montgomery Dickson and Ms. Taylor Anderson from the U.S., who lost their lives in the Great East Japan Earthquake while participating in the JET Program. Participants of this program, who will act as a bridge between Japan and the U.S. in the future, are selected within the U.S. to study in Japan in order to deepen their knowledge of Japanese language and culture. This program began in fiscal year 2011 and is scheduled to finish this fiscal year 2015. This year is the fifth time it has been held.

3. 32 participants of this program will attend Japanese conversation and Japanese cultural experiences programs at the Japan Foundation Kansai Japanese-Language Institute, and they are also scheduled to have exchanges with local high-school students and JET participants in Tohoku and Osaka. And they will visit Rikuzentakata City in Iwate prefecture and Ishinomaki City in Miyagi prefecture, where Mr. Montgomery Dickson and Ms. Taylor Anderson were working.

4. With this program, it is expected that the young people who will lead the next generation’s Japan-U.S. exchanges will interact with Japanese people and deepen their understanding on Japan. It is also expected that wide-ranging information including reconstruction efforts and the safety of Japan will be disseminated through the participants’ accurate understanding on the situation in Japan after the earthquake.