The Kakehashi Project & the US-Japan Relationship:

An Interview with Nari Konno

Posted on April 17, 2018 by The SAIS Observer Staff in Campus News, Issues, News, SAIS Washington // 0
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By: JANE SCHOTT

Washington: In December 2017, ten students from SAIS DC took part in the Kakehashi Project, an
exchange program coordinated by the Embassy of Japan. Read about Shiyana’s experience of the
trip here. Before spring break, Jane sat down with Nari Konno, the Director of the Kakehashi Project, to
learn more about its history, goals and impact. That interview has been transcribed here with minor
edits by The SAIS Observer.

Nari Konno is the Press Public Relations Officer at the Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C.

Jane Schott is a second year American Foreign Policy concentrator at SAIS who participated in the
Kakehashi Project this past January. Before attending SAIS, Jane spent two years working in Yamagata,
Japan as an English teacher for the JET Program.

Jane Schott: Would you mind telling us about the history of the Kakehashi Project?

Nari Konno: It started in 2013, and it was initially targeted towards college students. Most of it was
sending US college students to Japan for a week, and having them go on a tour of American government
agencies, the business community, cultural heritage sites and just have a week-long ‘Japan 101’
experience. And because it did so well, we got really good feedback, the program kept expanding and
expanding.

It includes now not just college students but graduate students such as yourself, think tanks, mayors,
Asian American leaders, people from business schools, members of Congress. There’s even a program
that targets people interested in pop culture. We also did a ‘sports exchange’, where members of karate
clubs went to Okinawa, which is where karate started.

JS: How many programs happen every year?

NK: It changes every year, but for the fiscal year 2017 we had 19 set programmes. It’s becoming
something for everyone. For example, there are a lot of students in this country who study Japanese.

JS: Yes, I was one of them.

NK: There’s a subcategory of the program that targets students who learn Japanese, so we awarded a
place on the program to the winners of Japanese speech competitions around the US. They went in
January and did a lot of cultural site visits and went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and
learned about Japan’s foreign policy.

JS: There are so many students that do study Japanese and really want to go to Japan but can’t
because they don’t have the financial means.
NK: it’s surprising to see the number of students who study Japan and love Japan but have never been to
the country, so we wanted to give them as many opportunities as possible to do so.

JS: I think it makes such a difference to actually go to Japan, speaking as someone who loves
Japanese culture.

NK: Did you do the homestay?

JS: I did, it was fantastic. I didn’t do a homestay on JET because you get your own apartment, so
this was the first time. It was a different level of integration that I’ve never experienced before,
which was extremely cool.

NK: Everyone says that about homestays. When you get thrown into that environment where no one
helps you and you just have to communicate, and just enjoy yourself, you actually do end up enjoying
yourself. After a night’s stay, eating raw horsemeat...

JS: Oh yes. Yeah, we went to an onsen, and I was a little more used to that than the two girls who
stayed with me. Like ‘we’re going to do this and it’s going to be great!’ An onsen is a Japanese hot
spring, and you don’t wear any clothes, so Americans are usually a little uncomfortable.

Do most programs have a general focus or a more specific focus? When we went, we studied
Japanese energy security, and the George Washington students studied education.

NK: Because it started as a college student program, it was originally a very generalised program,
meaning you’d talk about policy, you’d see some business, you’d see some culture. It was more about the
soft side of Japan and participants would get this whole spectrum of experience. But as the list of
participants expanded, we tried to make it more tailored to the interests of the individuals that are
going.

Until last year, the graduate student programmes were much like the college programmes. But it didn’t
meet the expectations of graduate students, who have a more professional attitude toward this kind of
exchange. They want networking experience, they want new knowledge. And when the trip is so
generalised, it just becomes a fun trip and that’s it. You don’t get any concrete, tangible results.

So, we tried to rearrange what we do with the grad students. This year, when selecting which students
to invite, we had a narrow focus of topics and themes the students had to be interested in. At SAIS,
because Dr. Kent Calder had a class about Asian Energy Security, and is such a fan of Japan, we thought it
would be good to target the students in that class, with a deep knowledge and interest in energy
security, and to plan a trip around that theme. We’re assuming that at least some of the students will
continue to pursue the field of energy security, so when they go to Japan, they can meet people in that
field, exchange business cards, and hopefully use that leverage in their career.

JS: It’s interesting because two of the people who were on my trip are now looking at careers in
energy. One of the girls is going to the Department of Energy, and one of the first years has
completely changed his focus – he’s all about LNG and Japanese oil markets.

NK: That’s really great to hear. That’s what I hope people get out of the Kakehashi Project, and if it helps
those two individuals to pitch themselves as Japan energy experts, because they’ve been selected on this
exchange programme to go to Japan and meet professionals in the field, it might help them with their
career objectives. And it would help us to know that a friend of Japan is in the Department of Energy.
JS: What would you say the KP’s core goals are?

NK: It’s building friendship and trust between the two countries. Kakehashi itself means ‘bridge’ literally
translated. We want to create a group of people that will serve as a bridge between Japan and the US,
and who will help to foster a better understanding between the two countries. They get to see how
Japanese people live and understand the culture that they cherish – we hope that participants like our
country!

JS: How has the Kakehashi Project continued to support the US-Japan relationship?

NK: The program itself is only five years old so it would be a stretch to say that it’s been a critical aspect
of the relationship, but it’s a part of a long-term effort between Japan and the US to nurture and foster a
group of people that really understand each other. People who can be supportive of each other, even in
times of difficulty. These people-to-people exchanges can really help countries to either rebuild a
relationship or enhance an already existing relationship. People-to-people exchanges start from the
grassroots, and they have a long-lasting effect in building trust between two nations. And I think the
Kakehashi Project can be put in that context.

JS: One of my major goals, after JET and now the Kakehashi Project, is coming back and telling
people about Japanese culture. So how can participants best share our experiences?

NK: In the short term it’s very simple – write blog posts about it, mention the programme on your
LinkedIn. Just publicise your experience, your discoveries about Japan, how it has helped you in your
career.

In the long term, it is my hope that you will build your career around what you heard and saw in Japan.
Like the person that you mentioned earlier who wants to join the Department of Energy can bring back
her observations and integrate them into her career, maybe working in an office that deals with Asian
energy security, and just take advantage of the connections that she built in Japan. Find that business
card and contact that person. That’s a really good way to leverage the resources that you’ve created
during that one week. And I say this because I think it helps that individual, but it’s also helpful for us to
have a friend in the States who has that responsibility.

JS: Ok I have one last question, this is for the SAIS community. How do you apply for a KP, for all
the people who will be reading this? I know there were many people who were jealous of me
when I got to go to Japan.

NK: This is an invitation-only programme. We selectively choose uniquely qualified students who we
think will be appropriate for the programme. It sounds a bit intimidating, but our target really depends
on where Japan is at at that precise moment, and what we want to promote in terms of policies. For
example, this year, because of the Fukushima disaster in 2011 and the debate we’re having in Japan
about energy policy, we focused on your group, which was studying Asian energy security. You’ll hear
about the trip from program coordinators at SAIS. So, if you hear about it and you’re interested, just sign
up, and don’t be scared about onsens, don’t be scared about raw horsemeat.

JS: Because it’s delicious

NK: Well yeah, it’s delicious, but the experience also sticks with you for the rest of your life. Don’t be
stuck in the Washington D.C. bubble – it’s so hard to get out, but sometimes you just have to put aside all
the risks you think exist and just go out there.