The Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) honored two of the top students of the 2011 Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) at a Japan Day event at Stanford University on August 19, 2011. The RSP, an online course on Japan and U.S.–Japan relations that is offered to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors across the United States, recognized the students based on their coursework and exceptional research essays.

Japan Day featured welcoming comments by Professor Coit D. Blacker, FSI Director; an overview of the RSP by Naomi Funahashi, RSP Coordinator and Instructor; opening remarks on Japan and U.S.–Japan relations by Consul General Hiroshi Inomata, Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco; and a lecture on post-earthquake Japan by Professor Emeritus Nisuke Ando, Kyoto University and Doshisha University. The program was highlighted by presentations by student honorees Lindsey Henderson and Mathieu Rolfo, who wrote research essays on Japan’s use of stories to construct a national identity, and on Okinawa’s role post-World War II, respectively. Professor Emeritus Daniel I. Okimoto and Professor Phillip Lipscy commented on the students’ essays. Gary Mukai, SPICE Director, facilitated the event.

Named in honor of former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Edwin O. Reischauer, a leading educator and noted scholar of Japanese history and culture, the RSP annually selects 25–30 exceptional high school students from throughout the United States to engage in intensive study of Japan. Through Internet-based lectures and discussions, the program provides students with a broad overview of Japan, with a special focus on the U.S.–Japan relationship. Prominent scholars affiliated with Stanford University, the University of Tokyo, the University of Hawaii, and other institutions provide lectures and engage students in online dialogue. The RSP received funding for the first three years (2004–06) of the program from the United States-Japan Foundation. Funding for 2007 and 2008 was provided by the Center for Global Partnership, the Japan Foundation. Funding since 2009 has been provided by the Japan Fund, FSI, Stanford University.

The RSP is currently accepting applications for the 2012 program. For more information about the RSP, visit www.reischauerscholars.org or contact Gary Mukai, RSP Coordinator and Instructor, at nfunahashi@stanford.edu.