PROJECT OVERVIEW 

Objectives

The KAKEHASHI Project is a youth exchange project, promoted by the Ministry Foreign Affairs in Japan, to heighten potential interest in Japan and increase the number of overseas visitors to the country, as well as enhance international understanding of the “Japan brand,” and the nation’s strengths and attractiveness, such as Japanese-style values and “Cool Japan.”

To address these aspirations, the Japan Foundation (JF), in collaboration with TOMODACHI Initiative promoted by the U.S. Government and the U.S-Japan Council (USJC), will implement the TOMODACHI INOUYE SCHOLARS as a part of the KAKEHASHI Project. Like all KAKEHASHI project programs the broad goals of this youth exchange project are (1) to promote deeper mutual understanding among the people of Japan and the United States, (2) to enable future leaders of U.S.-Japan exchanges to form networks, and (3) to help young people develop wider perspectives to encourage active roles at the global level in the future. The TOMODACHI INOUYE SCHOLARS program will also offer participants opportunities to learn about the legacy of Senator Inouye’s public service. This unique program will ensure the 200 TOMODACHI INOUYE SCHOLARS (100 Japanese and 100 Americans) have an experience that allows them to learn about the late Senator Daniel K. Inouye’s contributions to his state, his country, his heritage, and to the U.S.-Japan relationship, and to return to their schools inspired by his commitment to public service, justice, and U.S.-Japan cooperation.

Program Participants

The Asian Pacific American Studies Program (APAM) in partnership with the Ethnic and Intercultural Services (EIS) seeks to promote the leadership development students of color and their allies at LMU.  While both APAM and EIS serve the larger LMU community by engaging it in scholarly and social discourse on the histories and contemporary issues through a critical examination of the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender and culture. We also have a particular responsibility for the developmental growth of students of color on our campus.  Each of the selected LMU Tomodachi Inouye scholars also serve as Fellows, serving the African American, Latino and Asian Pacific American student populations or they serve as Intercultural Facilitators in Ethnic and Intercultural Services.  This program will allow our young scholars to explore the life and service of Senator Inouye and usher them into an active global conversation with the people and places of Japan. In doing so, it is our hope that the LMU Tomodachi Inouye scholars will gain an appreciation for their individual heritage and the strength of their collective heritages while gaining an understanding of how they simultaneously view themselves, view others and are viewed by, in this case the Japanese people. Through this experience it is hoped that they will develop relationships and understandings that will propel them to take their place in global leadership.