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 10th year and about to begin its 19th session overall.

SPICE courses almost felt like my high school entrance and graduation ceremonies: I joined Stanford e-Entrepreneurship right after entering high school and started Stanford e-Japan just before graduating. It’s perhaps no surprise that my journey with SPICE reflects my growth as an English learner and an aspiring researcher.

Four years ago, the first SPICE course turned out extremely challenging for me at the time. I still remember, after the first session of Stanford e-Entrepreneurship, I sent a message to the course organizer with tears that the program was too difficult for me to keep up. My English skills were just very poor back then. It might be only natural, as I grew up in the countryside of Nagano Prefecture, Japan and rarely had opportunities to practice English.

Time flew by fast, and in the winter of 2022, I saw the website where Stanford posted an application form for the spring 2023 Stanford e-Japan course. As I was about to graduate from high school, it was my last chance to apply. I knew my English had improved, and I had a feeling that I could do significantly better than the last time. “Well, there’s no harm in trying,” I thought and submitted my application, not knowing it was going to bring me many new opportunities.

In the e-Japan course, I felt much more comfortable with learning and discussing something in English. Still, when I received the email that I was selected as one of the award winners, I felt as if I were dreaming. An overwhelmed 10th grader crying about the e-Entrepreneurship course would have never imagined such a plot twist.

In early August of 2024, I traveled to California for a week to participate in the Japan Day ceremony. I had the chance to present my final paper and explore the beautiful campus of Stanford. I met so many amazing people too, including the SPICE director Dr. Gary Mukai and the e-Japan manager Ms. Waka Takahashi Brown. Also, I was fortunate enough to meet Consul General Yo Osumi and other consuls and staff from the Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco and my sempai Anna Matsumoto, who is currently studying at Stanford.

The e-Japan course was also the first time I shared my academic interests with others. As a final assignment, I wrote a research paper titled “The United States and Capitalism: How the U.S.-Led Economic System Has Affected the Planet.” It described the environmental impacts of capitalism and how it is intertwined with American history, ultimately suggesting the need to search for more sustainable economic models. Such research themes are something I’m truly interested in, and I aim to explore more of this in academia in the future.

As an advocate for sustainability, I honestly have mixed feelings about praising individual material success like winning an award. Related to my research, I don’t think materialism in general leads to human and planetary well-being. But this whole experience with SPICE is worth sharing, as it holds enormous intrinsic value to me regardless of any outside factors. It symbolises my personal growth and the new meaningful connections I made.

I’m glad that I kept pushing myself to improve my English and taking new opportunities. At the same time, I couldn’t be more grateful for the people who helped me with this journey. I’m excited for more opportunities to come and can’t wait to dive deeper into my academic interests in my undergraduate studies and beyond. 

For more information about the Stanford e-Japan Program, please visit stanfordejapan.org. The application period for the spring 2025 session will begin November 15, 2024.

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