Over the past few years, I have heard concerns from teachers about how divided they feel the United States has become. Many have also echoed the same civil liberties-related concerns that their students have expressed. My hope is that the free educational website—“What Does It Mean to Be an American?”—will help students reflect upon their civil liberties during this challenging time. The lessons were authored by SPICE’s Rylan Sekiguchi for use at the high school and college levels, and the website was developed by the Mineta Legacy Project in partnership with SPICE. Inspired by the life and career of Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, the six themed lessons are: Immigration, Civil Liberties & Equity, Civic Engagement, Justice & Reconciliation, Leadership, and U.S.–Japan Relations.

Since the website launched in September, I have invited high school and college students to review and share their reflections on the lessons. Below are the reflections of eight students. These reflections do not necessarily reflect those of the SPICE staff. One of the students, Shintaro Aoi, is a Japanese student who was enrolled in SPICE’s Stanford e-Japan course, which introduces U.S. society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations to high school students in Japan. The other seven students are living in the United States.

Shintaro Aoi, Tokyo, Japan:
I was shocked to learn that during World War II, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order that was applied to approximately 120,000 people of Japanese descent in the United States, most of whom were U.S. citizens. I came to understand that people of Japanese descent were specifically targeted and labeled as an enemy race. This was very surprising for me because President Roosevelt and General John DeWitt attacked people from their own country. This means they were not only engaging in war with Japan, but also dividing the United States at the same time. The lesson of Japanese American incarceration informed me of the danger of discrimination and political division, and it prompted me to think about the divisions in the United States today.

Kogen Brown, Oregon:
When people around the world hear the word “American,” I imagine they envision a range of different characteristics. However mixed the worldwide perceptions of the United States may be, I believe that there is a certain unique good woven into the American identity. For better or worse, many Americans feel the need to be very loud and outspoken about their ideals. I think, in many cases, that this is a good thing. Positive change doesn’t come quickly from people being passive. Americans, when petitioning for goals aimed to bring about what they believe is right, have never been passive. I believe that this American value has set the standard for much of the world and, for the most part, encouraged positive change across the globe.

Syerra Cabantac, California:
Typically, when you think of being an American, you’d think of freedom, liberty, and equality. However, from what I’ve seen recently, the “equality” part hasn’t been held up. Being African American and Filipino, I’ve seen that despite it being 2020, there are still people who have issues with my color. Although I haven’t personally experienced any discrimination, this is not the case for others. As a teenager today, I recognize that my incredibly diverse generation is the future. The presidential election of 2020 was huge for us, especially now that we will have a powerful Black and Asian woman as our vice president. I do believe that if people would just listen and think about my generation, we can do way better to come together as a nation.

Ilse Cruz, Florida:
What makes me an American is a set of ideals insisting that all of us are created equal and that we all share the freedom and an obligation to speak out and secure our most cherished values for the next generation. I am today a proud warrior with my handmade crown that was earned, not given. I raise my voice loud and proud for those whose families have migrated, for the minority, and for those in the margins who were discarded as another dismal statistic. I aspire to continue to fight for my hard-won American dream, yet to be fully realized. I am today a proud warrior in the American tradition. My handmade crown—like Liberty’s—was earned through tenacious struggle, not a birthright.

Kheira Sage Keams, Arizona:
I am a Navajo born and raised in Chandler, Arizona. Throughout my schooling, I have been identified as a Mexican, Hawaiian, or Filipino. I would correct them, and they are usually amazed. Teachers would normally question me and ask for clarification on lessons regarding Native Americans in Arizona, even though I had no clue about other tribes and knew little about my Navajo tribe. I would share what I learned from my father and Cheii (grandfather) with my teachers and fellow students. Being raised off the reservation gives me a far greater opportunity to learn about our multi-culturally diverse world. I share that with my cousins who live in the Navajo Nation and in return they share and teach me what they experience on the reservation.

Kalia Lai, California:
My identity as an Asian American has always felt complicated and isolating. When I was younger, it was the little things, like how hair chalk wouldn’t work in my black hair because it was designed with a white audience in mind. Now, after learning about discrimination against Chinese Americans in the past and how anti-Asian racism has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, embracing my Americanness comes with the understanding that there’s still a lot of progress to make. I cannot and would not change my ethnicity, but being an Asian American woman certainly influences the way I live my life. Given the racism and inequity that still exist today, I think being an American means advocating for everyone to be treated justly.

Andrew Lamb, Oregon:
As Americans, it is really easy to ignore our privilege and forget how lucky we are to be born and raised in such a great country. Millions from all over the world have immigrated to America. Just imagine leaving your country, family, and home just for a shot at the American dream. That is what my great, great grandfather George Lambropoulous did. In 1946, during the Civil War in Greece, George, who was only 19 at the time, took only a suitcase and $600 dollars and made his voyage to Ellis Island where his last name was shortened to Lamb. He ended up in Salt Lake City, Utah with only $20. He started his own restaurant that still stands to this day, Lamb’s Grill.

Masako Yang, California:
Born in the San Francisco Bay Area, I fortunately grew up free of any outright racism and took my civil liberties for granted my whole life. When COVID-19 hit the United States in March, however, I became self-conscious of my black hair, dark eyes, and even my name. My Asian heritage, a constant source of pride, suddenly became a recipe for confusion, embarrassment, and guilt. If I walk down the street, would people judge or fear me for my appearance? I felt an inexplicable need to apologize for my family origin. However, I soon realized that the guilt was self-imposed and self-perpetuated. I will break away from my internally perceived racism. After all, I am a proud first generation Asian American in the land of equality.

Additional reflections will be shared in the months ahead.

Just over ten years after becoming the first U.S. ambassador to Japan to participate in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony in 2010, Ambassador John Roos spoke about his experiences with 26 high school students in Stanford e-Japan from throughout Japan. In his October 16, 2020 online talk, Ambassador John Roos noted that his tenure in Japan—2009 to 2013—was defined by three major issues: (1) the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake or 3/11; (2) Operation Tomodachi (“friend” in Japanese) during which the U.S. Armed Forces helped in disaster relief following the 3/11 crisis; and (3) the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 6, 2010.

Regarding the first and second issues, Ambassador Roos recalled, “I was proud that the United States was there to help the people in Japan who obviously faced one of the biggest crises in your history… Vice President Biden came to Japan and the two of us traveled up to the Tohoku region because he wanted to see firsthand how he could help and how the United States could help, and I saw him interacting with not only the leaders but the people of the Tohoku region.” In addition to Operation Tomodachi, the youth-focused Tomodachi Initiative—a public-private partnership between the U.S.-Japan Council and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, with support from the Government of Japan—was born out of support for Japan’s recovery from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Regarding the third issue, Ambassador Roos shared, “I was the first United States ambassador to go to the Hiroshima commemoration ceremony. And I did that because I felt it was important to show respect for all of the victims of World War II and particularly obviously the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I did it because I felt that it was helping to promote President Obama’s agenda of the elimination of all nuclear weapons.”

During his talk, Ambassador Roos coupled his sharing of specific personal recollections with general insights on being the U.S. ambassador to Japan. For example, he explained that the role of the U.S. ambassador to Japan is twofold. First, the U.S. ambassador’s responsibility is to protect and look after the health and safety of the Americans that live in Japan—about 150,000 of them—including another 50,000 U.S. military personnel and their dependents. Second, nurturing and looking after the relationship between Japan and the United States, of course, is critical. He not only touched upon economic, political, and security relations but also emphasized the importance of student-to-student exchange. Concerning the latter, he is concerned that students from the United States are not spending enough time in Japan, and students in Japan are not spending enough time in the United States.

His insights profoundly connected to a student from Kyoto who commented, “When I am older, I hope to become a diplomat and maybe even an ambassador, so I’m really excited to get to talk to you today.” She continued, “What do you think makes a successful ambassador?” Ambassador Roos replied, “I hope you become the ambassador to the United States… Obviously, an ambassador needs to deal with all of the different policy issues and many difficult issues, but I think the most important thing is—and you may not expect this—but it is to listen… and to learn and to hear all sides of the equation… to show empathy.”

The current fall 2020 session of Stanford e-Japan is the 12th offering of the course since 2015. Stanford e-Japan is made possible by Mr. Tadashi Yanai, Chairman, President, and CEO of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. Mr. Yanai and Ambassador Roos share a mutual concern for the need for students in Japan and the United States to spend more time in each other’s countries.

As a closing question, Stanford e-Japan Instructor Meiko Kotani asked Ambassador Roos what he expects from Japanese high school students and what role he thinks they should play to foster the U.S.–Japan relationship. Roos responded, “Well, first of all, let me tell you how impressed I am by this group of students. The reason I am doing this session at 9:00pm on a Friday night is because I think you are the future of the relationship. So I encourage you to find ways to connect with the younger generation of [the United States] because in the end, we need you. We need the best and brightest minds, not only in the United States but in Japan and the rest of the world to confront some pretty big challenges we have in the world right now… When I listen to you, it gives me a tremendous amount of hope, and so I’m just honored to have had the opportunity to talk with you.”

After Ambassador Roos signed off, the students shared some points that especially resonated with them. Among these were the deep respect that Ambassador Roos has for Japan and his visit to all 47 prefectures; the importance he placed upon the need for high school students in Japan to communicate with high school students in the United States; the importance he placed upon the leadership of the United States to be humble despite its power; and the importance of empathy. And since 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, the following words that Roos stated seemed to especially resonate with the students: “President Obama said that we may not eliminate nuclear weapons in his lifetime or my lifetime. I hope in your lifetime.”

Valerie Wu, a student at the University of Southern California and an alum of SPICE’s Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP), Sejong Korea Scholars Program (SKSP), and China Scholars Program (CSP), recently interviewed Dr. Tanya Lee, instructor of CSP, for US-China Today, a publication of USC U.S.-China Institute.

In the September 26 interview, Lee shares insightful comments on her experiences teaching the CSP, including insights on the importance of studying China for everyone, regardless of their eventual career; and how she identifies topics for the course. In addition, Lee references SPICE’s newest course, Stanford e-China (SeC), which was developed for high school students in China and focuses on “Technologies Changing the World: Design Thinking into Action.” Lee and SeC instructor Carey Moncaster are engineering a collaboration between CSP and SeC students in November, in which they will work on a “green technology” project together, exploring practical solutions to sustainability issues they see in their own communities. The students will also be connecting informally over social media and are very eager to make contact with their counterparts overseas.

Looking back at her experience in the CSP, Wu commented, “The interdisciplinary, global thinking that I cultivated as a student at SPICE has become a fundamental aspect of my academic career. As a Narrative Studies and Law, History & Culture double major with an interest in China, the academic mentorship I received through the CSP highlighted the ways that intellectual study intersects with all these different ways of thinking about a certain topic. The way an issue is framed, specifically the way that we apply our own interpretation to it, reflects not only our understanding of culture, but also our place in it.” For Lee, witnessing students like Wu continue their study of China in college makes her feel more optimistic about future U.S.–China relations, despite the current tension between the two countries.

Wu’s interview of Lee can be accessed here.

The Stanford e-Japan Program provided me with the opportunity to take insightful lectures by front runners in various fields (for example, ambassadors, lawyers, and university professors), and to participate in absolutely riveting virtual classrooms, during which we could confer and raise questions about issues pertaining to the lectures.

It was my gateway to cross-cultural understanding and international studies, and it was the key to finding my passion, as I realized that law and business were my specific areas of interests. The program pushed me to seek further education in those fields and learn more intensively.

In high school, I conducted comparative research between India and Pakistan, analyzing honor killing court cases dating back to the late 19th century, judicial systems, etc. I realized how law can reinforce social norms by signaling approval and dissent through legal decisions, and how a revision of judicial systems can have massive social impact. I decided to major in Japanese law to gain knowledge and insight into these legal regimes domestically, and to pursue my dream of addressing social injustice.

Studying law at the University of Tokyo was both rewarding and invigorating. I had chances to engage in frank discussions with professors about civil procedures and criminal law, scrutinize documents, participate in seminars, and write a research paper about criminal prosecutions for defamation in Japan. Whilst taking classes, I also had internship opportunities to see how law was put into practice at a number of domestic and international law firms, and these experiences greatly assisted in developing my practical and theoretical expertise in law.

At the same time, having an interest in business, I launched a project with university peers to tackle food insecurity in Asia with the ultimate aim of reducing social injustice through social entrepreneurship. The idea was to produce an environmentally sustainable source of animal feed and provide a new source of income for the local population. We presented this plan and placed in the top six in the Asian Regional Hult Prize competition—one of the world’s largest international social entrepreneurship competitions for students—and took our project further.

Stanford e-Japan was much more than a virtual classroom, as it introduced me to so many caring and enthusiastic educators who encouraged me to go beyond my limits, and it equipped me with the skills that are essential for learning, such as problem-solving, research, and communication skills. With these skills and personal ties, I intend to keep challenging myself and carrying on my lifelong journey of learning.

Stanford e-Japan made my days in high school much richer. I attended the fall session of the course last year, and I am currently in the third and final year of high school.

For me, Stanford e-Japan was a “gate” to learn and understand the United States. I am truly glad that I had been able to listen to lectures offered by leading scholars in the United States. One of the most valuable parts of the course was that each topic contained views from the U.S. side. For example, in the class about World War II, we learned how the atomic bombing was taught in schools in the United States, and I was surprised to know that it illustrates more aspects of the bombing than Japan does.

Through learning about the U.S.–Japan relationship from the perspective of the United States, I gained many new thoughts about Japan as well. In particular, when I read about the role of the Japan–U.S. Security Alliance, I realized that many countries in Asia and their historical legacies continue to impact U.S.–Japan relations, making the alliance a very complicated topic. In addition, I learned the benefits and responsibilities of the alliance for the United States, in addition to those for Japan. During that module, I understood that it is crucial to see things from the side of both countries. 

Discussions with students from many different backgrounds was another great feature of Stanford e-Japan. I was often inspired by the views of my classmates that are based on their unique experiences. For instance, in a discussion about gender issues and equality, some students shared their own stories about finding inequality in their schools, and others brought research and data that countries around the world are introducing to solve the problem. In virtual classes, I was often stimulated by the questions posed by other brilliant students.

Through the classes, Stanford e-Japan gave me the “bridge” to connect the United States and Japan. Now, I think we will have to keep and strengthen the relationship. In the future, I would like to be a person who works globally. Stanford e-Japan underscored the importance of keeping a peaceful relationship, and the importance of understanding each other.

Finally, I would like to thank Stanford e-Japan Instructor Meiko Kotani, the lecturers, and the Yanai Tadashi Foundation who supported this amazing program.

On September 2, 2020, over 160 educators from across the United States joined a webinar titled “Angel Island Immigration Station: The Hidden History.” The Angel Island Immigration Station was located in San Francisco Bay and was operational from 1910 to 1940. It was established in order to control and enforce the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and other immigration-related laws that followed, e.g., the Immigration Act of 1924, which included the Asian Exclusion Act and the National Origins Act.

The featured speaker was Connie Young Yu, a writer, activist, and historian. Yu has written and spoken extensively about the contrasts between Ellis Island Immigration Station in New York Harbor—in which immigrants primarily from Europe were welcomed by an image of the Statue of Liberty—and Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay where immigrants entering the United States primarily from Asia were detained and interrogated. The largest detained group of immigrants was from China. Reflecting on the webinar, Yu commented:

I was glad to share my “hidden history” during the SPICE webinar, including the saving of the immigration barracks in the 1970s and my grandmother’s lengthy detention on Angel Island. The immigration station barracks—now a national monument—were nearly destroyed had it not been for Ranger Alexander Weiss and the activism of a citizens’ committee. The writing on the barracks’ walls by Chinese detainees still speaks to us today of peoples’ struggle against immigration exclusion and institutionalized racism.

The webinar can be viewed below.

Yu’s talk was followed by SPICE’s Jonas Edman who worked with graphic artist Rich Lee to publish Angel Island: The Chinese-American Experience. Edman shared scenes and activities from this graphic novel that tell the story of Chinese immigrants who were detained at Angel Island Immigration Station. The graphic novel has been widely used nationally to educate students about immigration to the United States from China. Yu remarked, “I was thrilled to hear from Jonas Edman about the brilliant graphic novel, Angel Island: The Chinese American Experience. At last, as part of the curriculum, students can learn in living color about how the detainees struggled and endured, the human side of Chinese immigration exclusion.”

Given the prevalence of immigration-related news over the past several years, several teachers in attendance noted the importance for school curricula to include topics related to immigration history in the United States. Following the webinar, Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation’s Executive Director Edward Tepporn reflected:

Growing up in Texas, I didn’t learn about Angel Island and its significant role in our nation’s complex history until after I moved to the Bay Area… Especially as racism and xenophobia are on the rise in the U.S., it’s important to uplift the full history of how our nation has treated its diverse immigrant communities, including the injustices they have endured as well as their important contributions.

Edman suggests that teachers consider asking students essential questions like: How and why did U.S. immigration policy favor certain groups and not others? What impact did laws such as the U.S. federal law, Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, have on Chinese immigration to the United States? In what ways did Chinese immigrants advocate for themselves and actively respond to discrimination and exclusion? How is U.S. immigration policy similar and different today? Also, Edman highly recommends teachers to visit the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation website, which includes excellent teaching resources, including primary sources.

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The webinar was made possible through the support of the Freeman Foundation’s National Consortium for Teaching about Asia initiative. The webinar was a joint collaboration between SPICE and Stanford’s Center for East Asian Studies. Special thanks to Dr. Dafna Zur, CEAS Director, and John Groschwitz, CEAS Associate Director, for their support; and to SPICE’s Naomi Funahashi for facilitating the webinar and Sabrina Ishimatsu for planning the webinar.

“What is social innovation?” was the central question that Professor Emeritus Seiichiro Yonekura, Hitotsubashi University Institute of Innovation Research, posed to 25 high school students who were enrolled in the inaugural offering of Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan in spring 2020. Yonekura was the first guest lecturer of the online course that is jointly sponsored by SPICE and the Japanese NPO e-Entrepreneurship, and his lecture set the context for a four-month course that also featured sessions by e-Entrepreneurship’s Yusuke Matsuda, Stanford scholars, and Silicon Valley- and Japan-based entrepreneurs. The goal of Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan is to foster creative thinking and problem-solving skills in students with a focus on innovation to address social issues.

For Yasuko Kinoshita, a student from Akita Prefecture, she immediately took this question to heart and began to think critically about how to help Akita’s economy, which has been largely dominated by traditional industries like agriculture, fishing, forestry, and sake brewing. Like many prefectures in Japan, Akita grapples with population decline due to an aging population and young people moving to urban centers like Tokyo for college and employment. Kinoshita’s final paper focused on ways to encourage youth to stay in Akita or to return to Akita after going away to college, and proposed ways that Akita could promote its strengths—such as its abundance of onsen (hot springs)—to establish workplaces that promote physical and psychological health for customers. Onsen waters are thought by many to be “healing.”

Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan Instructor Maiko Tamagawa Bacha observed that since the course was taught while students were at home during the pandemic, there seemed to be a type of “healing” quality that the course offered by way of convening students from throughout Japan. Students’ comments suggested that it was almost therapeutic to hear about how students in other parts of Japan were coping. Bacha noted, “Yasuko was a student who really stood out because she not only effectively engaged with students, scholars, and entrepreneurs but also put into practice insights gained from the course. I found the following statement from her final research paper especially poignant: ‘Offering a new role in society for elderly people can enhance the economy by facilitating an industry.’” While being concurrently enrolled at Akita Senior High School and Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan, Kinoshita founded a company to manage Yunokoshi Onsen. Given that many elderly—for health benefits—partake of the onsen waters, her experiences with Yunokoshi were very insightful to the other students in the class who shared an interest in Japan’s aging population. Kinoshita considered ways that onsen can help to bring about even more physical and psychological healing especially for the elderly during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. When asked about her experience in the course, Kinoshita noted:

Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan allowed me to have an experience to come up with realistic but ideal solutions to address real-world problems as a team. Before attending the program, I simply had the idea of wanting to combine my science background and my dream of solving social problems. However, one of the classes, which was the class on demographic change offered by Dr. Karen Eggleston, helped me to focus my interest, and enabled me to take action to address issues concerning the elderly by founding a company to manage Yunokoshi Onsen.

In her onsen management role, Kinoshita creates and updates websites, raises money through crowdfunding, and plans for new projects such as attracting people of all ages to the onsen, which has typically attracted more elderly. She is planning to allow local people to staff restaurants at Yunokoshi Onsen in order to provide them with an experience of learning the inner workings of restaurants.

Kinoshita will be invited to Stanford University in 2021 for a ceremony during which she will be afforded the opportunity to present her research to an audience of members of the Stanford and Japanese communities in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Consulate General of Japan.

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Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan is a partnership between SPICE and NPO e-Entrepreneurship, which is led by Yusuke Matsuda, MBA, and Mana Miura. Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan enrolls exceptional high school students from throughout Japan. Top Japanese and American scholars and entrepreneurs provide web-based lectures and engage students in live discussion sessions or “virtual classes” on topics like health care and public health, food and agriculture, environment and energy, and technology and innovation. The course is offered in English and includes reading assignments, online lectures, and discussion board posts. The course culminates in an independent research project. Students who successfully complete the course receive a Certificate of Completion from SPICE, Stanford University.

The spring 2020 course was taught by Maiko Tamagawa Bacha and generously supported by Water Dragon Foundation. Teacher Advisor Roy Lee, a teacher at Seiko Jr. and Sr. High School, Yokohama, Japan, contributed his time to the spring 2020 course as well as several high school and college students.

The fall 2020 course will be taught by Irene Bryant and is generously supported by Andrew and Mako Ogawa, Noriko Honda Chen, and the Capital Group. 

Applications opened last week for the China Scholars Program (CSP), Sejong Korea Scholars Program (SKSP), and Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) on Japan—three intensive online courses offered by SPICE, Stanford University, to high school students across the United States. All three applications can now be viewed at https://spicestanford.smapply.io/. Interested students must submit their completed application (including an essay and letter of recommendation) by the deadlines listed below.

Spring 2021 Online Course Application Deadlines

China Scholars Program: October 16, 2020
Sejong Korea Scholars Program: October 16, 2020
Reischauer Scholars Program: October 16, 2020

All three online courses are currently accepting applications for the Spring 2021 term, which will begin in February and run through June. Designed as college-level introductions to East Asia, these academically rigorous courses present high school students the unique opportunity to engage in a guided study of China, Korea, or Japan directly with leading scholars, former diplomats, and other experts from Stanford and beyond. High school students with a strong interest in East Asia and/or international relations are especially encouraged to apply.

“U.S. relations with East Asia is prominently featured in the news daily,” says Naomi Funahashi, instructor of the Reischauer Scholars Program. “SPICE is incredibly fortunate to have Stanford faculty conducting cutting-edge research on Korea, Japan, and China who are willing to help our students interpret key historical events and understand contemporary topics related to security, trade, and politics.”

Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors in the United States are eligible to apply to any of the three programs. Students who are interested in more than one program can apply to two or three and rank their preferences on their applications; those who are accepted into multiple programs will be invited to enroll in their highest-preference course.

For more information on a specific course, please refer to its individual webpage at chinascholars.org, sejongscholars.org, or reischauerscholars.org.

The RSP, SKSP, and CSP are SPICE’s online courses for high school students. In addition, we offer online courses for high school students in Japan (Stanford e-Japan) and China (Stanford e-China). To be notified when the next application period opens, join our email list or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.