The year 2020 marked the 50th anniversary of the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE). Its predecessor was the Japan Council for International Understanding (JCIU), an organization engaged in projects concerned with US-Japan relations, such as the Japanese-American Assembly (Shimoda Conference) and US-Japan parliamentary exchange programs. In 1970, the decision was made to go independent and establish JCIE.

More on JCIE’s 50th Anniversary

As part of our efforts to mark this 50-year milestone, it occurred to us that buried among our internal materials on US-Japan political and parliamentary exchange were countless documents that speak of JCIE’s unique history that should be preserved and shared to shed light on this important aspect of US-Japan relations. In 2018, the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP) graciously provided a grant for us to compile those materials into a report.

This report is intended to serve as a record of US-Japan political and parliamentary exchange and offer JCIE’s perspective on how that exchange has impacted US-Japan relations. It has been compiled by Hideko Katsumata, JCIE’s executive director and chief operating officer, with the assistance of Dai Funaki, program officer for the US-Japan Young Political Leaders Exchange Program, and other JCIE staff members. 

The report also features personal reflections from two individuals who have been closely involved with JCIE’s work for much of its history: Columbia University Professor Emeritus Gerald Curtis and former East-West Center President Charles Morrison. They offer their thoughts on the significance of JCIE’s political and parliamentary exchange programs from their unique standpoints.

The report is divided two separate volumes: the first a “History Volume” and the second a “Reference Volume.” The second volume will be published in 2021.