Konnichiwa! My name is Josie Rich. I am a rising senior studying computer science. This summer I had the opportunity to learn about US-Japan relations and foreign policy while traveling around Japan for 10 days. This trip was through The Howard H. Baker Center for Public Policy, and I happened to stumble upon this opportunity through one of the many newsletters that UTK sends out. UTK is filled with opportunities that can combine my various interests outside of computer science, and I was lucky enough to get financial support from Tickle Engineering to explore my interest in foreign policy. During this trip, I was specifically interested in the boosting of digital trade/technology between Japan and the USA. 

Our itinerary was jam packed from traveling to Kobe, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Tokyo. We talked about the history and importance of the USA and Japanese alliance. After the US dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, Japan relied on the US to help build Japan back up from the ground. The US wrote the Japanese constitution which includes a “No war” clause called Article 9. This has been up for great debate on whether to get rid of Article 9. Japan plays an important role in influencing other East Asian countries on foreign policies. Recently, Japan announced it is increasing its military budget to 2% of its GDP in response to the increased threat of China. 

My favorite part of the trip was being able to discuss these topics with Japanese students, US Foreign Service Officers, and Japanese professors. It was interesting to see the differences between Japanese views versus my own personal views of the US-Japan relationship. I was especially awed by the cleanliness and kindness of the Japanese as well as the extensive use of public transportation. In addition to talking about foreign policy, we got to go to Tokyo Disneyland and see a Studio Ghibli exhibition at the Kobe City Museum.