The following reflection is a guest post written by Stanford e-Hiroshima alum Rio Sasaki, who served as one of three high school peace messengers from Hiroshima Prefecture in 2021–22.

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Hello. I am Rio Sasaki, a 19-year-old woman living in Hiroshima, Japan. Today, I want to share about my experience as a Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Messenger.

Do you know the Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Messengers program? It was started in 1998, and since then, Peace Messengers have visited the United Nations every year to appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of a peaceful world. Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Messengers collect signatures against war and do peace-promoting operations. We have submitted more than two million signatures so far. We visited the UN Headquarters in New York City, the United States, until 1999, and since 2000 we have been visiting the UN Office at Geneva, Switzerland, where the Conference on Disarmament will be held.

Last year, in my third year of high school, I was chosen as a Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Messenger. The reason why I wanted to be a Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Messenger was because my grandparents are hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) and I wanted to tell the truth of their story to posterity as the last generation that can hear the voice of hibakusha. Moreover, I was inspired by the story of a young woman who fought to protect democracy in Hong Kong. Then I thought to myself, “I want to make a difference in the world, too.”

The most shocking event in my year as a Peace Messenger was the world suddenly being in a situation in which nuclear weapons may be used in war. We—the Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Messengers—held urgent fundraising activities for Ukraine and collected signatures against the war. After that, we went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo with the signatures we collected and handed them to State Minister for Foreign Affairs Odawara. Then, I conversed with Prime Minister Kishida at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum as a Youth Communicator for a World without Nuclear Weapons. I did not think an ordinary high school student like me would have a chance to talk to the prime minister of a country. I was very nervous, but it became a memorable day for me. In this way, my experience as a Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Messenger had a huge effect on my life. Photo to the right: Rio Sasaki in Nagasaki speaking as a peace messenger.

I participated in the Stanford e-Hiroshima program when I was in the first year of high school and learned about the United States and the world. Being able to finish this curriculum lent me great confidence. In particular, my life changed by meeting my Stanford e-Hiroshima instructor, Mr. Rylan Sekiguchi. I challenged myself to become a Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Messenger when I was a second-year high school student, but I was not chosen and felt very discouraged. However, Mr. Rylan encouraged me to keep my chin up. The next year, I applied a second time, and I was chosen. If it had not been for Mr. Rylan’s support, I wouldn’t be who I am. Participating in Stanford e-Hiroshima and meeting Mr. Rylan Sekiguchi were extremely important events in my life.

I am now a first-year student at Hiroshima City University majoring in International Studies. Moving forward, I hope to continue advocating for peace in my community and around the world. From now on, I plan to polish my English skills to continue promoting peace activities to the world.

Stanford e-China has been an incredible academic experience from day one.

My journey with the program started with the interview, which was an enjoyable and memorable experience. I was greeted by a warm smile the moment I entered the Zoom room, and Ms. Carey Moncaster showed genuine interest in learning about me as a person. Rather than focusing on my experiences or achievements, she wanted to know more about my personality, interests, and dreams. Ms. Moncaster and the director of SPICE, Dr. Gary Mukai, have remained passionate advisors and generous mentors to many students even after the course, including me. Over the last year and a half, they were always there when I needed advice on how to proceed with a project or wisdom on dealing with a difficult situation.

The sense of community permeated the course itself, which was designed to be highly interactive. The expert speakers gave insightful lectures, followed by long sessions of Q&A. I can still remember my excitement at being able to ask Mr. Roy Ng, our fintech speaker, three questions after his seminar, where he explained how blockchain could help us reach the unbanked. In fact, my current obsession almost perfectly mirrors that topic—exploring how Central Bank Digital Currencies can help facilitate financial inclusion to mitigate inequality. That session made me realize that social entrepreneurship and tech-based solutions will be key players in upholding justice.

The Q&A was also a chance for my cohort to learn from each other. We bonded over our productive, collaborative, and enthusiastic discussions, and many of us stayed in touch after the course. Over the last year and a half, I have grown to be close friends with my fellow honoree, Jason Li. After meeting in person when he visited Shanghai, we decided to co-found a platform to connect students across the globe. Inspired by the diverse community of brilliant students we saw at Stanford e-China, we developed SPOT. The acronym stands for Student Projects Organized Together, and we hope to bring together an international network of passionate youth. We believe that together, we undertake global initiatives that make tangible impacts. Our website is www.spotaproject.com.

Last but not least, e-China has helped me with my work in social justice. Design Thinking has not only aided in my endeavors with SPOT but also in my other initiatives, including the Law Association for Crimes Across History (LACAH) mock trial, where we put perpetrators of atrocities on the stand (lacah.net). Dora Gan from my e-China cohort is actually a member of our Youth Council! Design Thinking’s methodical approach helped us scale up rapidly, and we were recently honored by the EARCOS Global Citizen Grant.

Throughout high school, I have learned a lot from a wide range of outstanding programs. I have also met many other fabulous peers through them. However, it is not every day that a course leaves such a significant impact, continuing to play a role in my life long after its conclusion. Stanford e-China is truly an exceptional experience. I am very thankful to have been a part of the first cohort.

Applications opened recently for the Fall 2022 session of the Stanford University Scholars Program for Japanese High School Students (also known as “Stanford e-Japan”), which will run from the end of September 2022 through the end of February 2023. The deadline to apply is August 12, 2022.

Stanford e-Japan
Fall 2022 session (September 2022 to February 2023)
Application period: July 1 to August 12, 2022

All applications must be submitted at https://spicestanford.smapply.io/prog/stanford_e-japan/ via the SurveyMonkey Apply platform. Applicants and recommenders will need to create a SurveyMonkey Apply account to proceed. Students who are interested in applying to the online course are encouraged to begin their applications early.

Accepted applicants will engage in an intensive study of U.S. society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations. Government officials, top scholars, and experts from Stanford University and throughout the United States provide web-based lectures and engage students in live discussion sessions.

Stanford e-Japan is offered by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), Stanford University. Stanford e-Japan is generously supported by the Yanai Tadashi Foundation, Tokyo, Japan.

For more information about Stanford e-Japan, please visit stanfordejapan.org.

To stay informed of news about Stanford e-Japan and SPICE’s other student programs, join our email list or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

SPICE offers separate courses for U.S. high school students. For more information, please visit the Reischauer Scholars Program (online course about Japan), the Sejong Korea Scholars Program (online course about Korea), and the China Scholars Program (online course about China).

“Be careful with the scissors,” my grandma would remind me once more. The blistering heat of the Tokyo summer radiated through the living room mercilessly, temporarily distracting me from my task at hand. My eight-year-old hands, glistening with sweat, carefully cut through an empty plastic bottle. I would neatly cut through the grooves of the water bottle, making sure not to leave any sharp ridges, per my grandma’s instructions. After some additional modifications of my own, the mini-trash can was complete. This would be used in various places in my grandparents’ house from the bathroom to the kitchen sink, providing the plastic bottle with years of repurposed life. When I ask my grandma why she won’t simply buy a new plastic container for the same purpose, she would predictably respond: “Mottainai kara” (translation: Because that would be mottainai).

This word, mottainai, which most closely translates to “wasteful,” is a staple of Japanese culture. It is commonly used to express one’s sentiment of wastefulness. It can be used in various contexts from feeling wasteful about food being thrown away to the feeling of regret after wasting time. Awareness of mottainai has been a constant throughout my entire life. I recall my favorite childhood bedtime story being Mottainai Baasan—the story of a baasan, or grandma, who found creative ways to reduce and repurpose waste. Her simple yet riveting creativity ingrained into me an instinct of reducing waste from a young age. I would stuff old shirts into my pillow case to adjust my pillow height; tape pencils sharpened down to less than an inch to the back of a pen to be able to use them to the very end; water down almost empty tomato sauce cans and shake it with the lid closed to be able to use every last bit of the sauce—all were ideas inspired by Mottainai Baasan.

While I had always taken mottainai for granted, I never questioned why Japan as a society practices mottainai so diligently. Through Stanford’s Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP), I was able to explore this familiar concept of mottainai through an academic and historical lens, recontextualizing a mindset I grew up with into what I now realize is a combination of Shinto principles and the result of Japan’s efforts to reconstruct the country following their loss in World War II.

This collective awareness of and desire for self-betterment and respect for one another casted mottainai in a brand-new light. Such realizations allow me to appreciate my family’s culture in a way that ties into grounded historical events.

In particular, books such as Edwin O. Reischauer and the American Discovery of Japan by George Packard explained questions I had long wondered about, specifically regarding key differences in Japanese and Korean culture. As it turns out, America learned from certain setbacks they faced when Westernizing Japan and reshaped its approach in Korea, resulting in many of the differences between Japanese and Korean culture we observe today.

Furthermore, having participated in public Japanese education for over a decade, the opportunity to study Japan under an American lens was incredibly insightful. Whether it be biases I began to realize between Japanese and American teachings or the different approaches to introducing topics involving both countries, connecting different perspectives began to feel like a four-dimensional puzzle spanning time and cultures. The opportunity to immediately discuss my thoughts with other students in RSP culminated into multiple “aha!” moments that have stuck with me since. These thoughtful discussions with my peers stood out as a central part of my experience in the program. For additional context, my experience with RSP coincided with the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite such distractions, RSP allowed me to learn in an engaging and captivating manner. Since the program was originally designed to be in an online setting long before COVID, a strong sense of community was already baked into the experience, and I was able to learn directly from my classmates around the world in an efficient and organized manner.

The opportunity to learn the context and history behind various aspects of Japanese culture that I grew up with and previously took for granted was a priceless experience. Being able to understand why certain cultural quirks exist as well as how they came to be and in what ways they impact modern Japanese society renewed my outlook while deepening my appreciation for Japan.

In March 2022, SPICE released Introduction to Issues in International Security, an online lecture series that was developed in consultation with the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC). Four CISAC scholars are featured in accessible video lectures that aim to introduce high school students to various global security issues.

Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez, high school educator, historian, and researcher, was an advisor to the first cohort of high school students to engage with the lectures. Ornelas guided students from San Jose and Salinas through the video lectures and accompanying curriculum. Students took the initiative to complete the series and assignments on top of their regular schoolwork.

Ornelas’s efforts culminated in the inaugural International Security Symposium that was held on May 26, 2022. The four CISAC scholars gathered online with the first cohort of students. The objectives of the symposium were to offer students a chance to interact with leading scholars in the field of international security and to learn from the scholars about careers in the field.

The scholars, who are featured in the lecture series and who were present during the symposium, are:

Dr. Martha Crenshaw, Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (Terrorism and Counterterrorism)

The Honorable Rose Gottemoeller, former Deputy Secretary General of NATO and Frank E. and Arthur W. Payne Distinguished Lecturer at Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (International Security and North Korea’s Nuclear Program)

Dr. Norman Naimark, Professor of History and Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide)

Dr. Megan J. Palmer, Executive Director of Bio Policy and Leadership Initiatives at Stanford University, Adjunct Professor in the department of Bioengineering, and Affiliate of the Center for International Security and Cooperation (Biosecurity)

During the symposium, the scholars shared key turning points in their careers and how they came to be in their fields of expertise. This was followed by student presentations in breakout sessions, where the students were given the opportunity to present on one of the four topics covered in Introduction to Issues in International Security.

In the breakout session on ethnic cleansing and genocide, Professor Naimark was impressed by how the students had absorbed the most important lessons of the material on mass atrocities: 1) that ethnic cleansing and genocide are an important part of human history, and 2) that these are phenomena that need to be studied and understood in order to prevent them from repeating in the future.

The student participants from Salinas were recently featured in an article in The Salinas Californian. Alisal High School student Ashley Corral commented that the series “brought awareness to COVID, mass atrocities and weapons,” and “it was really helpful that students from Salinas Valley could have that opportunity.” Another student, Bilha Piceno said, “It lets me see if this is something that I’m interested in."

The lecture series encourages students to think about international security not only on a broader level, but also how they can contribute to the safety of the world as global citizens starting with their own communities. Given the success of the first symposium, CISAC and SPICE hope to expand on the lecture series, which is part of their DEI-focused efforts, and reach more underrepresented minority students.

SPICE’s relationship with the East-West Center dates back to 1988 when David L. Grossman, Founding Director of SPICE, departed Stanford to become the Director of the Consortium for Teaching Asia and the Pacific in the Schools (CTAPS) at the EWC. In 1995, Grossman left the EWC to join the faculty and administration of the newly established Hong Kong Institute of Education, now the Education University of Hong Kong. Namji Kim Steinemann became his successor and CTAPS became the AsiaPacificEd Program for Schools, which Steinemann directed until her retirement in 2019. I had the pleasure of giving sessions for CTAPS and AsiaPacificEd during its summer institutes from 1989 to 2009.

Over the years, SPICE has continued its connection to the EWC through its work with the EWC’s past presidents like Michel Oksenberg, former Senior Fellow at the Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University, and most recently with EWC President Suzanne Puanani Vares-Lum who took office in January 2022. She is the first woman, Native Hawaiian, and Hawaii resident to be chosen for this role. On June 6, 2022, I met with President Vares-Lum to discuss a teacher summer institute that SPICE will host at the EWC in July 2022 and mentioned my desire to continue SPICE’s long history with the EWC.

The summer institute is the culmination of two online professional development programs (2020–21 and 2021–22) for high school teachers across Hawaii that is supported through a grant from the Freeman Foundation. It is called the Stanford/SPICE East Asia Seminars for Teachers in Hawaii or Stanford SEAS Hawaii and is managed by Rylan Sekiguchi.

Stanford SEAS Hawaii aims to build teachers’ content knowledge of East Asia by connecting them with scholars at Stanford University, the University of Hawaii, and other local institutions in Hawaii. The participating teachers—Stanford/Freeman SEAS Hawaii Fellows—also receive teaching resources from SPICE and share pedagogical strategies to support their teaching in the high school classroom.

SPICE is grateful to the Freeman Foundation for its generous support of Stanford SEAS Hawaii and EWC President Vares-Lum for her commitment to continuing the EWC’s long history of working with SPICE. Photo above (left to right): Gary Mukai and the Freeman Foundation’s President Graeme Freeman, Senior Program Officer Alec Freeman, and Office Manager Robin Sato.

SPICE continues to expand its regional programs for high school students in Japan. This year marked the launch of the Stanford e-Kobe program, which joins the previously established programs, Stanford e-Hiroshima, Stanford e-Kawasaki, Stanford e-Oita, and Stanford e-Tottori.

These online courses are a collaboration between SPICE and local government and school officials in Japan and challenge students to think critically about global themes related to U.S. society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations.

All five courses have now finished their 2021–2022 term. This summer, two top students from each program will present their final research projects and be honored at a virtual event hosted by SPICE, Stanford University. Congratulations to the ten honorees below on their excellent academic achievement!

Stanford e-Hiroshima (Instructor Rylan Sekiguchi)

Student Honoree: Minori Imai
School: Hiroshima Prefectural Kuremitsuta High School
Project Title: All Lives Are Important

Student Honoree: Yui Miyake
School: Hiroshima Prefectural Hiroshima High School
Project Title: U.S. Prison System: How the Country’s History of Racial Inequality Drives the High Rate of Incarceration in America

Stanford e-Kawasaki (Instructor Maiko Tamagawa Bacha)

Student Honoree: Sayaka Kiyotomo
School: Kawasaki High School
Project Title: How Can We Improve Junior and Senior High School English Education in Japan?

Student Honoree: Anne Fukushima
School: Tachibana High School
Project Title: How Are Invisible Disorders Accepted in the United States and Japan?

Stanford e-Kobe (Instructor Alison Harsch)

Student Honoree: Nonoha Toji
School: Kobe University Secondary School
Project Title: How to Foster Entrepreneurship in School Days: Between U.S. and Japan

Student Honoree: Cullen Hiroki Morita
School: Kobe Municipal Fukiai High School
Project Title: The Different Work-Life Balance in Japan and America

Stanford e-Oita (Instructor Kasumi Yamashita)

Student Honoree: Rina Imai
School: Usa High School
Project Title: Learn About War and Peace Through the Naval Air Base Bunkers in Oita

Student Honoree: Yuki Nojiri
School: Hofu High School
Project Title: I Want to Live in the Second House of the Three Little Pigs

Stanford e-Tottori (Instructor Jonas Edman)

Student Honoree: Sakurako Kano
School: Tottori Keiai High School
Project Title: Being Proactive

Student Honoree: Yuki Yamane
School: Tottori Nishi High School
Project Title: The Effect of Collectivism and Individualism on Education

The SPICE staff is looking forward to honoring these ten students in a virtual ceremony on August 9, 2022 (August 10 in Japan). Each student will be given the opportunity to make a formal presentation to members of the Stanford community, the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, and the Japanese community in the San Francisco Bay Area.

SPICE also offers online courses to U.S. high school students on Japan (Reischauer Scholars Program), China (China Scholars Program), and Korea (Sejong Korea Scholars Program), and online courses to Chinese high school students on the United States (Stanford e-China) and to Japanese high school students on the United States and U.S.–Japan relations (Stanford e-Japan).

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