Stanford e-Japan is an online course that teaches Japanese high school students about U.S. society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations. The course introduces students to both U.S. and Japanese perspectives on many historical and contemporary issues. It is offered biannually by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE). Stanford e-Japan is currently supported by the Yanai Tadashi Foundation.

In August 2025, the top honorees of the Spring 2024 and the Fall 2024 Stanford e-Japan courses will be honored through an event at Stanford University. SPICE is most grateful to Mr. Tadashi Yanai and the Yanai Foundation for making Stanford e-Japan, including the ceremony in August 2025, possible.

The three Spring 2024 honorees—Aoi Furutani (Saitama Municipal Urawa High School), Komari Machida (Crimson Global Academy), and Sota Tajima (Seiko Gakuin High School)—were selected as the award winners for their coursework and exceptional research essays that focused respectively on “Comparative Analysis of Surrogacy Policies in the United States and Japan: Proposals for Introducing Surrogacy in Japan,” “Futoukou vs. Homeschooling: Exploring Societal Reintegration of Children Outside of Traditional School Systems in Japan and the United States,” and “Synergy in the Stars: How the U.S. and Japan Can Lead the Next Era of Space.”

Ryu Sato (Soka Senior High School) received an honorable mention for his research paper on “Japanese and American Philanthropic Culture in Regard to College Financial Aid.” Sakura Suzuki (Hokkaido Asahikawa Higashi High School) also received an honorable mention for her paper on “Designing School Buildings to Encourage Student Creativity: Comparing Historical Changes in School Buildings in Japan and the United States.”

The three Fall 2024 honorees—Ellen Nema (Junior and Senior High School Affiliated to Showa Pharmaceutical University), Hirotaka Onishi (Kaisei Gakuen High School), and Mia Yakushiji (Murasakino Municipal High School)—will be recognized for their coursework and exceptional research essays that focused respectively on “Breaking the Chain of Poverty in Okinawa: Educational Approaches and Foundations,” “A Time for Reconsideration: Toward a New International Monetary Order,” and “Dual Citizenship in Japan.”

Lynne Mizushima (Keio Shonan Fujisawa Junior & Senior High School) and Kan Sugimi (Isahaya High School) each received an honorable mention for their coursework and research papers on “The Lack of Female Political Leaders in Japan: A Cultural Glass Ceiling” and “Should Bilingual Parents in the U.S. Raise Bilingual Children?”

In the Spring 2024 session of Stanford e-Japan, students from the following schools completed the course: Akita High School (Akita); Chiba Prefectural Kashiwa High School (Chiba); Crimson Global Academy (Tokyo); Doshisha International High School (Kyoto); Hiroshima Global Academy (Hiroshima); Hiroshima International School (Hiroshima); Hokkaido Asahikawa Higashi High School (Hokkaido); Ikeda Senior High School Attached to Osaka Kyoiku University (Osaka); Kadokawa S High School (Ibaraki); Kanazawa University Senior High School (Ishikawa); Keio Shonan Fujisawa Junior & Senior High School (Kanagawa); Kindai University Toyooka Junior and Senior High School (Hyogo); Kyoto Municipal Saikyo Senior High School (Kyoto); La Salle High School (Kagoshima); Matsumoto Fukashi High School (Nagano); Okayama Prefectural Tsuyama Senior High School (Okayama); Saitama Municipal Urawa High School (Saitama); Seiko Gakuin High School (Kanagawa); Senior High School at Komaba, University of Tsukuba (Tokyo); Senior High School at Otsuka, University of Tsukuba (Tokyo); Shibuya Kyoiku Gakuen Shibuya Junior and Senior High School (Tokyo); Soka Senior High School (Tokyo); Tajiminishi High School (Gifu); Tokyo Gakugei University International Secondary School (Tokyo); Tokyo Jogakkan High School (Tokyo); Tokyo Metropolitan Kokusai High School (Tokyo); Tsuchiura Nihon University High School (Ibaraki); and Yokohama International School (Kanagawa).

In the Fall 2024 session of Stanford e-Japan, students from the following schools completed the course: Daiichi High School (Kumamoto); Hachinohe St. Ursula Gakuin High School (Aomori); Hiroo Gakuen High School (Tokyo); Hiroshima Global Academy (Hiroshima); International Christian University High School (Tokyo); Isahaya High School (Nagasaki); Joshigakuin Senior High School (Tokyo); Kaetsu Ariake Senior High School (Tokyo); Kaisei Gakuen (Tokyo); Kanazawa Nishigaoka High School (Ishikawa); Kawawa Senior High School (Kanagawa); Keio Girls Senior High School (Tokyo); Keio Shonan Fujisawa Junior & Senior High School (Kanagawa); Kurume University Senior High School (Fukuoka); Matsuyama South High School (Ehime); Meikei High School (Ibaraki); Murasakino Municipal High School (Kyoto); Nagasaki Nishi High School (Nagasaki); Niigata Prefectural Niigata High School (Niigata); Okayama Prefectural Okayama Asahi Senior High School (Okayama); Ritsumeikan Keisho Senior High School (Hokkaido); Ritsumeikan Uji High School (Kyoto); Sapporo Kaisei Secondary School (Hokkaido); Senior High School at Otsuka, University of Tsukuba (Tokyo); The Junior and Senior High School Affiliated to Showa Pharmaceutical University (Okinawa); Tokyo Gakugei University Senior High School (Tokyo); and Tokyo Metropolitan Nishi High School (Tokyo).

Stanford e-Japan is one of several online courses for high school students offered by SPICE, including the Reischauer Scholars Program, the China Scholars Program, the Sejong Korea Scholars Program, Stanford e-China, Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan, as well as numerous local student programs in Japan. For more information about Stanford e-Japan, please visit stanfordejapan.org.

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