In October 2008, I departed for Tokyo as a participant in the Japan  Fulbright Memorial Fund (JFMF) Teacher Program.  This program allowed me to be one of 158 educators in the U.S. to travel to Japan for three weeks in an effort to promote greater intercultural understanding between the two nations.

        We began our visit in Tokyo with a practical orientation on Japanese life and culture and meetings with Japanese government officials and educators. We then traveled in groups of 16 to selected host cities where we had direct contact with Japanese teachers and students during visits to primary and secondary schools as well as a teachers college.  We also visited cultural sites and local industries in addition to a brief homestay with a Japanese family.

        The Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund, based in Tokyo, oversees all aspects of the Teacher Program.  The program is sponsored by the Government of Japan and was launched in 1997 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the U.S. government Fulbright Program, which has enabled more than 6,000 Japanese citizens to study in the U.S. on Fulbright fellowships for graduate education and research.  The Institute of International Education acts as the agency for the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund to coordinate the recruitment and pre-departure activities of the Teacher Program in the United States.  Sadly, the program has lost its funding and will no longer continue.  However, efforts are being made to develop a scaled-down program with bi-nationally funding from both Japan and the United States in which teachers from both countries would participate in an exchange program.

        To date, more than 6000 primary and secondary school educators have visited Japan through the JFMF Teacher Program.  Upon their return, program participants share what they have learned about Japan with their students and communities through a variety of outreach projects. 

Information was used from the Institute for International Education website at www.iie.org