Japan Program at APARC - News
Japan Program News
As global audiences and digital platforms reshape cultural exchange, APARC’s Japan Program convened leading creators, producers, and scholars at Stanford to examine the creative ecosystems driving the international success of Japan’s content industries and their growing influence on innovation, fandom, and international collaboration.
Shinichi Kitaoka, a visiting scholar at APARC and Japan Program fellow, teaches a spring quarter seminar that brings students and scholars together to examine Japanese political history from the Yedo period to the present through a global and comparative lens.
As geopolitical uncertainty deepens and traditional alliances are tested, APARC’s Japan Program and the United States-Japan Foundation convened thought leaders at Stanford to explore the shifting bilateral cooperation across areas spanning global democracy, economic resilience, civil society and governance, and the unexpected power of baseball diplomacy.
Tsutsui, whose research focuses on globalization, human rights, social movements, and political sociology, currently serves as deputy director of the center, and has been the director of the Japan Program since 2020.
We are deeply saddened to share that our friend and colleague, Michael Armacost, passed away on Saturday, March 8, 2025. A former U.S. ambassador to the Philippines and Japan, Mike was a Shorenstein APARC fellow until his retirement in 2021.
Approximately 20 percent of Japanese women are likely to choose a different surname if a dual-surname option for married couples is introduced, according to the latest survey of the Stanford Japan Barometer. A new installment in the Asahi Shimbun’s GLOBE+ series features these and other Japan Barometer survey results.
Sponsored by Stanford University’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, the annual Shoresntein Award promotes excellence in journalism on the Asia-Pacific region and carries a cash prize of US $10,000. The 2025 award will honor an Asian news media outlet or a journalist whose work has primarily appeared in Asian news media. Nomination entries are due by February 15, 2025.
APARC recently hosted two panels to consider what a second Trump presidency might mean for economic, security, and political dynamics across Asia and U.S. relations with Asian nations.
Held at Stanford and hosted by the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, the third annual Dialogue convened global leaders, academics, industry experts, and emerging experts to share best practices for advancing Sustainable Development Goal 9 in support of economic growth and human well-being.
In a recent visit by a delegation from Japan's Embassy to the United States and Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco, Ambassador Shigeo Yamada and Stanford experts discussed pressing issues affecting U.S.-Japan relations, regional security, and the international legal order. Hosted by APARC's Japan Program, the visit highlighted the role of academic institutions in informing policy and global cooperation.
A new book by APARC Visiting Scholar Michael Beeman offers a timely analysis of the shift in United States' foreign trade policy, examines its recent choices to “walk out” on the principles that had defined the global trade system it had created, and offers recommendations for a redefined and more productive trade policy strategy.
Open Faculty Positions in Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy, Korean Studies, and Taiwan Studies
Stanford University seeks candidates for a new faculty position in Japanese politics and foreign policy, a faculty position in Korean Studies, and a new faculty position on Taiwan. All three appointments will be at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and affiliated with Shorenstein APARC.
A new installment of the Asahi Shimbun’s GLOBE+ series highlights Stanford Japan Barometer findings about Japanese public opinion on recognizing same-sex unions and legalizing a dual-surname option for married couples. Co-developed by Stanford sociologist Kiyoteru Tsutsui and Dartmouth College political scientist Charles Crabtree, the public opinion survey tracks evolving Japanese attitudes on political, economic, and social issues and unveils how question framing changes the results of public opinion polls.
Held at Stanford University on October 10-11, 2024, the third annual Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue will unite social science researchers, scientists, policymakers, and emerging leaders from Stanford University and the Asia-Pacific region to accelerate resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.
Tsutsui, whose research focuses on social movements, human rights, political sociology, and Japanese society, joins the IUC as it recently celebrated its 60th anniversary.
Stanford researchers Gi-Wook Shin and Haley Gordon propose a novel framework for cross-national understanding of human resource development and a roadmap for countries to improve their talent development strategies.
Researchers including Stanford sociologist Kiyoteru Tsutsui, the deputy director of APARC and director of the Japan Program at APARC, find that geopolitical rivalries and alliances significantly shape citizen perceptions of immigrants.
Stanford’s Asia-Pacific Research Center Invites Applications for Fall 2025 Asia Studies Fellowships
The Center offers multiple fellowships for Asia researchers to begin in Autumn quarter 2025. These include postdoctoral fellowships on Asia-focused health policy, contemporary Japan, and the Asia-Pacific region, postdoctoral fellowships and visiting scholar positions with the Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab, a visiting scholar position on contemporary Taiwan, and fellowships for experts on Southeast Asia.
At the Nikkei Forum, Freeman Spogli Institute scholars Oriana Skylar Mastro, Michael McFaul, Gi-Wook Shin, and Kiyoteru Tsutsui considered the impacts of the war in Ukraine, strategies of deterrence in Taiwan, and the growing tension between liberal democracy and authoritarian populism.
Moves by Japanese prime minister could have lasting impact on country's politics.
Honoring the Legacy of Makoto Iokibe
Honoring the Legacy of Makoto Iokibe
Makoto Iokibe was an esteemed diplomatic historian best known for his pioneering studies on the U.S. post-World War II occupation of Japan, but his influence extended beyond the scholarly world.
The Asahi Shimbun is publishing a series highlighting the Stanford Japan Barometer, a periodic public opinion survey co-developed by Stanford sociologist Kiyoteru Tsutsui and Dartmouth College political scientist Charles Crabtree, which unveils nuanced preferences and evolving attitudes of the Japanese public on political, economic, and social issues.
A panel discussion co-hosted by Shorenstein APARC and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA examined the key dynamics at play in the unfolding regional competition over power, influence, and the fate of Taiwan.
Sponsored by Stanford University’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, the annual award recognizes outstanding journalists and journalism organizations for excellence in covering the Asia-Pacific region. News editors, publishers, scholars, and organizations focused on Asia research and analysis are invited to submit nominations for the 2024 award through February 15.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, which concluded the 2023 APEC host year for the United States, included a highly-anticipated meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Shorenstein APARC scholars weigh in on the significance of the meeting in the context of China’s geopolitical ambitions, the outcomes of the APEC summit, and other topics.