As Japan faces a rapid population decline and a growing sense of national stagnation, how can its youths cultivate high aspirations and pursue a roadmap to achieve them? How can educators nurture globally competitive talents across Japanese economy, politics, culture, and sports?

Hanamaki Higashi High School, located in the small city of Hanamaki in Iwate Prefecture, has gained national and international recognition for producing top baseball talents, such as Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers), Yusei Kikuchi (Angels), and Rintaro Sasaki (Stanford Cardinal). What sets the high school’s baseball program apart?

The Japan Program at Stanford's Shorenstein APARC is excited to welcome Mr. Hiroshi Sasaki, the renowned head coach of Hanamaki Higashi High School’s baseball team, as he discusses his philosophy that “Assumptions make the possible impossible” and shares how he has built a winning team while nurturing individual growth — a challenge in Japan’s collective-oriented society. Join us and hear Coach Sasaki’s insights into developing motivation and equipping Japan's next generation with the mindset and strategies to achieve their goals.

Agenda

1:00 PM                                    Check-in opens in Encina Hall Lobby

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM                Documentary Screening of "Koshien" with opening remarks from Ema Yamazaki

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM                Keynote and conversation with Hiroshi Sasaki

Keynote Speaker:

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Hiroshi Sasaki - After graduating from Iwate Prefectural Kurosawajiri-Kita High School, Hiroshi Sasaki went on to Kokushikan University and coached at Yokohama Hayato High School before being transferred to Hanamaki-Higashi High School in 2000. In 2000, he was transferred to Hanamaki-Higashi High School, where he served as an advisor for the Badminton and Girls Softball teams before becoming the baseball coach in 2002. In his fourth year at the helm, he led the team to its first appearance in the Koshien Tournament in 2005, a runner-up finish in the Senbatsu Tournament in the spring of 2009, and a top-four finish in the summer Koshien Tournament. Since then, he has led the team to numerous national tournaments and made great strides, while at the same time nurturing many of his students to become promising professionals and professional players. His success with MLB players Yusei Kikuchi (LA Angels) and Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) and his personality have become the talk of the world, and many people are interested in learning about his high school training methods.

• He was a coach for the U.S.-Japan High School Team (2009)
• He was awarded the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Outstanding Teacher Award (2011)
• The 12th Japan Sports Academy Grand Prize (2021)

Moderator:

Kiyoteru Tsutsui is the Henri H. and Tomoye Takahashi Professor and Senior Fellow in Japanese Studies at Shorenstein APARC, the Director of the Japan Program and Deputy Director at APARC, a senior fellow of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Professor of Sociology, all at Stanford University. Tsutsui received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Kyoto University and earned an additional master’s degree and Ph.D. from Stanford’s sociology department in 2002. Tsutsui’s research interests lie in political/comparative sociology, social movements, globalization, human rights, and Japanese society. His most recent publication, Human Rights and the State: The Power of Ideas and the Realities of International Politics (Iwanami Shinsho, 2022), was awarded the 2022 Ishibashi Tanzan Award and the 44th Suntory Prize for Arts and Sciences.

Documentary Introductory Remarks:

Ema Ryan Yamazaki was recently nominated for an Academy Award for her short documentary film INSTRUMENTS OF A BEATING HEART which follows a group of Japanese 1st grade students on the journey in performing "Ode to Joy." She is also the Editor of Shiori Ito's BLACK BOX DIARIES, which was also nominated for the Academy Awards in the feature documentary category. Raised in Osaka by a Japanese mother and British father, Ema grew up navigating between Japanese and Western cultures. Having studied filmmaking at New York University, she uses her unique storytelling perspective as an insider and outsider in Japan. In 2017, Ema’s first feature documentary, MONKEY BUSINESS: THE ADVENTURES OF CURIOUS GEORGE’S CREATORS was released worldwide after raising over $186,000 on Kickstarter. In 2019, Ema’s second feature documentary about the phenomenon of high school baseball in Japan, KOSHIEN: JAPAN’S FIELD OF DREAMS, premiered at DOC NYC. In 2020, the film aired on ESPN, and was released theatrically in Japan. It was a New York Times recommendation for international streaming and featured on the Criterion Channel. Ema's latest documentary feature, THE MAKING OF A JAPANESE, follows one year in a Japanese public school.