Stanford e-Japan enrolls exceptional high school students from Japan to engage in an intensive study of U.S. society and culture. The Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) enrolls exceptional high school students from the United States to engage in an intensive study of Japanese society and culture. Both courses underscore the importance of U.S.–Japan relations. The Yanai Tadashi Foundation is the current supporter of Stanford e-Japan, and the Japan Fund at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) is the current supporter of the RSP.

On August 3, 2026, the 2026 Japan Day award ceremony was held at Stanford University to honor SPICE’s Spring and Fall 2025 Stanford e-Japan student honorees and 2026 RSP student honorees. Stanford e-Japan instructors Waka Takahashi Brown (spring course) and Meiko Kotani (fall course), RSP instructor Naomi Funahashi, and the research paper review committees selected the honorees. The honorees are:

Spring 2025 Stanford e-Japan
Mahono Fuji, Seinan High School, “From White Flight to Gentrification: Rethinking Urban Spatial Inequality”

Nagi Matsuyama, Doshisha International High School, “Reconsidering U.S.–Japan Food Trade”

Jinichiro Taguchi, Kaijo High School, “U.S. Foreign Policy and the Monroe Doctrine”

Honorable Mentions:
Dion Munasingha, Yaizu Chuo High School, “Language Support for Children of Immigrants in Japan and the United States”

Natsuka Yamamoto, Keio Girls Senior High School, “Future of Natural Disaster Response Management in Japan and the United States”

Fall 2025 Stanford e-Japan
Sawa Ito, Iida High School, “Mental Health in the United States and Japan: Beyond the Numbers”

Yurino Ohara, Okayama Asahi High School, “Redesigning Japan’s OTC Policy: A Digital Strategy for Fiscal Sustainability and Patient Protection”

Amy Yanai, The British School in Tokyo, “Community Resilience and Soft Power: Disaster Recovery in the U.S. and Japan”

Honorable Mentions:
Takaki Okada, Musashi High School, “Anti-Globalism Sentiment in the United States: Its Causes and Effects”

Aiko Nakano, Shizuoka Futaba Senior High School, “A Comparison of Refugee Recognition Systems in Japan and the United States: The Role of Public Awareness”

2026 Reischauer Scholars Program
Emma Bouvard, The Nightingale-Bamford School, “The Unfinished Promise of Womenomics: Entrepreneurship and the Limits of Gender Equality in Japan”

Erin Tsutsui, Gunn High School, “Reaffirming Japan’s Commitment to the Three Non-Nuclear Principles”

Lisa Yoshida, Monta Vista High School, “The Architecture of Achievement: Structural Equity, Affect Valuation, and the Future of Education in Japan and the U.S.”

Honorable Mentions:
Anmol Singh Josan, Eastside Preparatory School, “The Digital Escape Hatch: Virtual Schools, Futon, and Japan’s Unfinished Educational Reform”

Mika Shimada, Hilton Head Prep, “From Stagnation to Adaptation: Japan and the Redefinition of Economic Success for Developed Nations”

Takahiro Uchida, The Wheeler School, “How Economic Policy Shaped the Soft Power Divide Between J-Pop and K-Pop”

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The program began with welcoming comments from the Honorable Kotaro Otsuki, Consul General of Japan in San Francisco. He commented that the Reischauer Scholars Program and Stanford e-Japan are very important for our two nations—given that both engage future leaders in both countries—and extended congratulatory comments on behalf of the Consulate to the honorees. SPICE was honored with his presence. 

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Following the welcoming and opening comments, Brown, Kotani, and Funahashi gave overviews of their courses and introduced the student honorees. The student honorees made articulate presentations based on their research papers and demonstrated so much poise while answering questions from the audience. Each honoree received a plaque from their instructor. Photo above courtesy of Jonas Edman. 

The RSP will enter its 24th year in 2027, and Stanford e-Japan is about to enter its 12th year. Many of the alumni are studying U.S.–Japan relations, engaged in various fields related to U.S.–Japan relations, and continue to give back to both programs by being guest speakers and mentors to the new students. This year, honoree Amy Yanai, who will be a freshman at Yale, has agreed to meet with the Fall 2026 Stanford e-Japan cohort.

Following the formal event, the student honorees—most having just met each other in person for the first time—had the chance to enjoy lunch and a Stanford campus tour together. It is the hope of Brown, Kotani, and Funahashi that the Japanese and American student honorees will continue to stay in touch not only during their high school and college years but also beyond, into their careers. 

SPICE is grateful to President Tadashi Yanai for his generous support of Stanford e-Japan and to the staff of the Yanai Tadashi Foundation for their regular correspondence and encouragement. SPICE is thankful to the Japan Fund committee at FSI for its generous support of the Reischauer Scholars Program. These courses and the ceremony would not be possible without them. SPICE is also grateful to SPICE Event Coordinator Sabrina Ishimatsu for meticulously planning and implementing the event.

SPICE is currently accepting applications for the 2027 Reischauer Scholars Program. The deadline to apply is October 23, 2026.

The application for the 2027 spring session of Stanford e-Japan will open on November 15, 2026.

SPICE also offers online courses to U.S. high school students on China (China Scholars Program), Korea (Sejong Korea Scholars Program), and entrepreneurship (Stanford e-Entrepreneurship U.S.), to Chinese high school students on the United States (Stanford e-China), and to Japanese high school students on entrepreneurship (Stanford e-Entrepreneurship Japan).

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