Lee Jong-Seok served as vice-secretary of South Korea’s National Security Council and as its unification minister under the Roh Moo-Hyun administration (2003–08). After Roh’s tragic death in 2009, Lee resolved to present a record of the so-called participatory government’s achievements and failures in the realm of unification, foreign affairs, and national security.
Peace on a Knife’s Edge is the translation of Lee’s 2014 account of Roh’s efforts to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula in the face of opposition at home from conservative forces and abroad from the Bush administration’s hard stances of “tailored containment” and its declaration of the North as part of the “axis of evil.” Lee’s narrative will give American readers rare insights into critical moments of Roh’s incumbency, including the tumultuous Six-Party Talks; the delicate process of negotiating the relocation and reduction of United States Forces Korea; Roh’s pursuit of South Korea’s “autonomous defense”; conflicts with Japan over history issues; and the North’s first nuclear weapons test.
Interventions designed to improve primary care management of diabetes and reduce avoidable hospital admissions show promise for saving healthcare resources without compromising quality of care. These are the findings made by an international research team’s study of four East Asian sites.
With a fourfold increase in global diabetes prevalence over the past thirty-five years (2016 Lancet report), countries are increasingly experiencing the dual health challenges of chronic noncommunicable diseases and aging populations. An estimated 12 percent of global health expenditures in 2015 was for diabetes-related services.
The study, published in the November issue of Health Affairs, examined policy interventions in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and rural and peri-urban Beijing; by increasing access and adherence to effective outpatient management, the interventions potentially improved health outcomes while realizing cost savings from reduced avoidable hospital admissions.
“This article represents the first publication in a series of research collaborations under the Stanford AHPP-led comparative diabetes net value project,” said Karen Eggleston, Asia Health Policy Program Director and one of the article’s authors. “We are assembling and analyzing rich patient-level datasets, using diabetes as a lens to explore ‘value for money’ in chronic disease management. “
Eggleston also noted that additional research teams have joined since the publication. The authors look forward to contributing evidence for improved health policy in different institutional contexts and for health systems adapting to rapidly aging populations.
Improving the quality of primary care may reduce avoidable hospital admissions. Avoidable admissions for conditions such as diabetes are used as a quality metric in the Health Care Quality Indicators of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Using the OECD indicators, we compared avoidable admission rates and spending for diabetes-related complications in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and rural and peri-urban Beijing, China, in the period 2008–14. We found that spending on diabetes-related avoidable hospital admissions was substantial and increased from 2006 to 2014. Annual medical expenditures for people with an avoidable admission were six to twenty times those for people without an avoidable admission. In all of our study sites, when we controlled for severity, we found that people with more outpatient visits in a given year were less likely to experience an avoidable admission in the following year, which implies that primary care management of diabetes has the potential to improve quality and achieve cost savings. Effective policies to reduce avoidable admissions merit investigation.
The Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) is an interactive, synchronous online course for high school students in the United States. As part of Stanford University’s SPICE Program in Pre-Collegiate Global Learning, the RSP provides students with a broad overview of Japanese history, literature, religion, art, politics, economics, and contemporary society, with a special focus on the U.S.–Japan relationship. Although intensive, the RSP will equip participants with a rare degree of expertise about Japan that may have a significant impact on their choice of study and future career.
The Japan Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center is seeking a research scholar with a Ph.D. in political science, economics, or related areas to conduct research on Japanese politics or economy and to assist in teaching a course on Contemporary Japan.
The position is one-year, fixed-term, renewable for an additional year based on performance and funding availability. Start date September 1, 2018.
The research scholar will assist faculty members of the Japan Program in teaching a course on contemporary Japan:
Lecture and lead class discussions
Schedule guest instructors
Hold office hours for students
Maintain the course website on canvas
Develop topics for short papers and assist faculty instructors with evaluation process
Promote student awareness of course related seminars and panel discussions that are occurring within APARC and other centers at FSI
The research scholar will help the Japan Program organize academic conferences that will be scheduled during the academic year 2018-2019:
Invite speakers and communicate agenda and logistics
Participate in the conferences
Author, write and publish a detailed report on the conferences
Publish the report on the Japan Program website
The research scholar will contribute to the Japan Program:
Conduct his/her own research related to Japan
Present his/her own research at Japan Program colloquium
Interact with other researchers at the Japan Program
Qualifications
Working in a capacity which ordinarily requires a Ph.D. or its equivalent in research skill and subject knowledge, a Research Scholar is involved directly in the execution, and frequently the design, of a PI's research activities.
For consideration and job details, please submit curriculum vitae, cover letter, two writing samples on relevant topics, and the names and contact information of three references by March 01, 2018 at the link below for requisition id 77423:
A background check will be required for the final candidate
Stanford is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, as well as others who would bring additional dimensions to the University’s research, teaching, and clinical missions or any other characteristic protected by law.
Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of the job.
The U.S.-Japan Council’s TOMODACHI Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) identifies, cultivates, and empowers a new generation of Japanese American leaders. A new cohort of Emerging Leaders is selected annually to attend USJC’s Annual Conference, participate in leadership education, and join program alumni in bridging the future of the U.S.–Japan relationship.
SPICE’s Rylan Sekiguchi, Manager of Curriculum and Instructional Design, recently returned from Washington, DC, where he participated in the U.S.-Japan Council’s annual conference as a member of the 2017 TOMODACHI Emerging Leaders Program (ELP). USJC was conceptualized by the late Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii and Irene Hirano Inouye, President of USJC.
Sekiguchi was born and raised in Honolulu, and from as far back as he can remember, Senator Inouye was a role model and iconic figure in Hawaii, serving as the state’s U.S. Senator from 1963 to 2012 and as President pro tempore of the Senate from 2010 until his death in 2012. Sekiguchi graduated from Roosevelt High School and chose Stanford University over Harvard and Yale—to avoid the snowy winters—for his undergraduate studies. He joined SPICE in 2005 shortly after graduation.
“I feel honored to participate in USJC and the ELP specifically,” reflects Sekiguchi. “The ELP is such an incredible program, and knowing that USJC was conceptualized by my home state’s late Senator Inouye makes the experience even more meaningful to me. The 2017 ELP cohort has five members who are originally from Hawaii, and I hope that we and the others in my cohort will help realize Senator Inouye’s vision of empowering a new generation of leaders in the U.S.–Japan relationship.”
Sekiguchi is one of 12 delegates of the eighth ELP cohort. “Acceptance into the ELP is highly competitive,” notes Kaz Maniwa, Senior Vice President of USJC, who has directed the ELP since its inception. Maniwa closed his law practice in San Francisco after 36 years to dedicate himself to the Council and the empowerment of youth specifically through the ELP. “It’s exciting to be able to work with the next generation of leaders of our community and in U.S.–Japan relations. The ELP delegates are smart, compassionate, ambitious in a good way, forward-thinking and supportive of each other. They come from across the United States and Japan and have developed into a broad network of future leaders.”
Rylan Sekiguchi at the 2017 U.S.-Japan Council conference in Washington, DC
Besides receiving leadership training and networking with program alumni, the 2017 ELP delegates attended the U.S.-Japan Council’s annual conference and met with leaders in the business, nonprofit, and government sectors. This year’s conference theme was “Unity in Diversity: Shaping the Future Together,” and its panelists and keynote speakers spanned a wide range of backgrounds, expertise, and politics, and included two current members of the U.S. Cabinet. Delegates considered changes that have arisen under the new White House administration and how Japan and the United States can continue to work together toward mutually beneficial goals.
Sekiguchi and his fellow ELP delegates have already seeded ideas to help strengthen U.S.–Japan relations. Some of the ideas lie in the area of education. For example, Sekiguchi shared his current SPICE work with the Mineta Legacy Project, which focuses on the life of former Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, Vice Chair of USJC’s Board of Councilors. Secretary Mineta served as President Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Commerce and President George W. Bush’s Secretary of Transportation. The Mineta Legacy Project will include a documentary being developed by USJC Council Leaders Dianne Fukami and Debra Nakatomi and an educational curriculum that is being developed by Sekiguchi.
The U.S.-Japan Council’s 2018 conference will take place in Tokyo in November, and plans are already underway for the eighth ELP cohort’s first reunion.
Sponsored by the United States–Japan Foundation, the Elgin Heinz Teacher Award recognizes exceptional teachers who further mutual understanding between Americans and Japanese. The award is presented annually to pre-college teachers in two categories, humanities and Japanese language. It is named in honor of Elgin Heinz for his commitment to educating students about Asia as well as for the inspiration he has provided to the field of pre-college education.
SPICE’s Reischauer Scholars Program Manager and Instructor Naomi Funahashi has won the 2017 Elgin Heinz Teacher Award for her teaching excellence with the Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP), an online course named in honor of former Ambassador to Japan Edwin O. Reischauer that introduces Japan and U.S.–Japan relations to high school students in the United States. Funahashi formally accepted the award at Stanford University on November 20, 2017.
In his opening comments, David Janes, Director of Foundation Grants and Assistant to the President, United States–Japan Foundation, who hosted the ceremony, praised Funahashi, explaining why she is so deserving of the distinction: “Like Ambassador Reischauer, Naomi knows how global education at the high school level can transform kids for life, making them better leaders for the future.”
Comments from the Honorable Jun Yamada, Consul General of Japan, were shared by Maiko Tamagawa, Advisor for Educational Affairs, Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco. Consul General Yamada noted, “Ms. Funahashi is indeed an extraordinary educator. Her dedication and commitment to inspiring and empowering young Americans to become experts on Japan is an invaluable contribution to the promotion of mutual understanding between our two countries.” Consul General Yamada, who serves on the advisory committee of the RSP, also graciously hosted a dinner at his residence in honor of Funahashi in July 2017, shortly after the announcement of the award.
SPICE Director Gary Mukai, who nominated Funahashi for the award, commented that “Naomi is extremely dedicated to her students, and I hear regular praise from her students, including those who have matriculated to Stanford. Elgin would have rave reviews of her interdisciplinary approach to teaching… Because of Naomi, the original RSP goal of creating a new generation of leaders in the U.S.–Japan relationship has become a reality.”
David Janes (United States–Japan Foundation) presents the 2017 Elgin Heinz Teacher Award to Naomi Funahashi (SPICE)
Former RSP student and recent Stanford graduate Aryo Sorayya spoke next and thanked Funahashi for extending herself to students far beyond the RSP’s course requirements themselves. Sorayya spoke not only about Funahashi’s careful attention to students’ work but also her sincere interest in their college plans and careers.
Also in attendance were former Ambassador to Japan Michael Armacost; many Stanford scholars—including Takeo Hoshi, Kenji Kushida, and Phillip Lipscy—who contribute lectures, lead online “virtual classrooms,” and/or serve as principal investigators of the RSP; former recipients the Elgin Heinz Teacher Award Norman Masuda and Saya Okimoto McKenna; and members of Funahashi’s family, including her mother Jan Funahashi, husband Rich Lee, and three-year-old son Akira, hopefully a future RSP student in 2030.
Funahashi was born in Tokyo and grew up moving between the United States and Japan. Naomi has resided in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2000, joining SPICE in 2005. She is a graduate of Brown University (BA), San Francisco State University (teaching credential), and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (M.Ed.). She has served as Manager and Instructor of the RSP since joining SPICE.
JSPS Fellowships for Research in Japan: Information Session for Stanford University Scholars
The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science offers fully funded fellowships to scholars with excellent records of research achievement for the purpose of conducting collaborative research, discussions, and opinion exchanges with counterparts in Japan. The fellowships are intended to help advance the research activities of the fellows while promoting science and internationalization in Japan. This information session is offered to Stanford Scholars interested in conducting collaborative research in Japan, in order to provide fellowship information and guidance. All fields of research are welcome.
Agenda
12:00pm Fellowship Programs
Postdoctoral Fellowships
Invitational Fellowships
12:20pm Alumni Experience and Q&A
12:35pm Networking
Applicant Eligibility
Please note that not all eligibility requirements or exceptions are noted. Eligibility by program may vary.
For further information and details regarding eligibility prior to the information, please see the JSPS application guideline or visit the JSPS website.
Questions regarding eligibility can be directed to the JSPS San Francisco Office at webmaster@jspsusa-sf.org
Holds citizenship of a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan
Exception: JSPS Postdoctoral Short-term Program (hold citizenship or permanent residency of US, Canada, EU, Switzerland, Norway or Russia)
AND
Holds PhD by start of fellowship AND be within six years of receiving your PhD
Exception: JSPS Postdoctoral Short-term Program (hold the status above OR be enrolled in a doctoral course AND be scheduled to receive a Ph.D. within 2 years)
OR
Holds a full-time position at a research institution equivalent to professor, associate professor, or assistant professor
Exception: Short-term S Program (be a Nobel laureate or equivalent)
Exception: Non-faculty researchers who are conducting research at a university or non-profit institution (case-by-case)
Exception: Non-faculty researchers who've held a PhD for 6 years or more and are conducting research at a university or non-profit research institution
GSVlabs is a startup and corporate innovation accelerator located in the heart of Silicon Valley in Redwood City. It houses more than 180 startups and supports corporate innovation programs for more than 25 corporations. During the past few years, GSVlabs has welcomed numerous startups from foreign countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, China, Korea, Germany, Austria just to name a few. In many cases, these foreign startup acceleration programs are funded by large corporations and governments that see long-term economic benefits of supporting such activities in Silicon Valley. In this public forum, Atsuko Jenks will discuss examples of such corporate and government funded accelerator programs and implications for the efforts by Japanese corporations and Japanese government organizations to accelerate corporate innovation and economic growth of Japan.
SPEAKER:
Atsuko Jenks, Managing Director, Japan, GSVlabs
BIO:
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Atsuko oversees development and implementation of corporate innovation and new business development accelerator programs for Japanese corporations at GSVlabs in Redwood City. She is also an advisor for two Silicon Valley technology startups, Grabit and Viewpoint Systems. For nearly 20 years, Atsuko has advised and worked with both US and Japanese companies, assisting them with their cross-Pacific alliance and partnership strategies as well as technology licensing and various commercial agreements. Atsuko is also active in non-profit work as a Board Member of Stanford Business School Alumni Association, an Executive Committee Member of The Tech Museum of Innovation, the San Francisco Chapter President of Tsuda University Alumnae Association, and a member of Stanford Business School Alumni Consulting Team. She was previously Director of Japan Division with Williams-Sonoma in San Francisco, and Consultant at Bain in Tokyo Office. Atsuko holds BA from Tsuda University in International Relations and Global Studies, and MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
AGENDA:
4:15pm: Doors open 4:30pm-5:30pm: Talk and Discussion 5:30pm-6:00pm: Networking
SPICE Director Gary Mukai has been named a recipient of the 2017 Autumn Conferment of Japanese Decorations. On November 3, the government of Japan announced that Dr. Mukai will be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays for his contributions to the promotion of friendship and mutual understanding between Japan and the United States.
The Order of the Rising Sun is a decoration in the Japanese honors system that dates back to 1875. It was established as the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, and it recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to Japan or its culture. It is one of the highest decorations conferred by the government.
“I am very humbled by this honor,” reflects Mukai. “I still find it hard to believe. But as someone who has always cared deeply about the U.S.–Japan relationship, this decoration truly means a lot to me. I’m just thankful I’ve had so many opportunities to be involved.”
After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree and teaching credential from UC Berkeley, Dr. Mukai moved to Japan to teach in 1977 and has since worked to promote cross-cultural education between the United States and Japan. Besides working as a teacher in both countries, he has served as a longtime interviewer for the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program and has been a selection committee member of the United States-Japan Foundation’s Elgin Heinz Teacher Award since its inception. At SPICE, he has developed numerous curriculum guides on Japan for K–12 classrooms as well as overseen the creation of both the Reischauer Scholars Program and Stanford e-Japan—a pair of nation-wide online courses that teach American and Japanese high school students about each others’ countries.
A date for Mukai’s formal conferment ceremony has not been announced.
Rylan Sekiguchi at the 2017 U.S.-Japan Council conference in Washington, DC
David Janes (United States–Japan Foundation) presents the 2017 Elgin Heinz Teacher Award to Naomi Funahashi (SPICE)
