JASC Goes to Japan!

I was honored to have the opportunity to represent Colorado at the America Japan Society International Symposium, held in Kyoto, Japan. This event is hosted in Japan every two years.

There were 10 U.S. based Japan-America Societies and 10 Japan-based America-Japan Societies in attendance for the first portion of the conference. Moderated by Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki and Ambassador Kurt Tong, all societies were able to share post-COVID return to activities and best practices. We were then joined by academic, political, and cultural leaders for a series of panel discussions highlighting the importance of the U.S.-Japan bilateral partnership in the world today. If there is one message that rang true throughout this conference, it's the fact that grassroots level connections and organizations like JASC, who work to create personal connections between our local region and Japan, are so critically important to the greater U.S.-Japan alignment. Educating children, supporting college-level students, supporting our local businesses and governments - these are all program goals of JASC that feed the greater U.S.-Japan relationship. I am inspired to continue the great work that we do and to engage as many of our JASC members as possible!

While in Japan, I took the opportunity to visit with some of our JASC members and supporters as well as take my first trip up to the Sister Prefecture of Colorado, Yamagata Prefecture. Trust me when I tell you that the ties between Colorado and Japan are strong and there is a great interest in making them even stronger!

As always, if you have suggestions about activities that you would like to see JASC do, please reach out and let us know! I'm looking forward to more great work in 2023!

Sincerely,

Claudine Locascio
Executive Director, JASC