Event planning in Japan is certainly not the same as it is in the United States. Posting bills with event details cannot take place without the approval of three offices, an electronic method of information dissemination does not exist and I had to use a fax for the first time since I was eight.
This technologically advanced country has some very interesting bureaucratic processes that perhaps Americans would see as unnecessary and inefficient but is seen in the Japanese eye as a way to ensure quality effort and care is put into everything. Thus far, this has been one of the biggest challenges I have faced with planning events for my work with TOMODACHI.
I was recently asked to help plan an event that would promote Japanese interest in studying abroad in the United States. Normally at GWU this would have been a straightforward event to plan. I would book a room, have something posted to GWeekly, flyer around campus, make a Facebook event, and tell my friends to spread the word. When you’re a study abroad student the same resources are not quite available, the friend group is smaller, oh and yes, there is the small detail of not knowing how to run an event that would appeal to the Japanese audience!
This event is to cater to a student population that I haven’t worked with before coming to Japan. Sure, I have Japanese friends and I know their likes and dislikes but I wasn’t sure whether there was a stereotypical way to run an event, I didn’t know if there were unspoken rules or expectations for informational or academic events. However, I have been lucky to be a part of a wonderful seminar course with Professor Fujimoto here at Nanzan University. Professor Fujimoto’s Seminar course is full of extremely intelligent, international affairs majors who have been able to guide me through the process of event planning at a Japanese university. I have had to think about what might be keeping Japanese students from studying abroad in America. Is it the country? Is it the language? Is it the culture?
Comparatively to China and Korea, Japan has sent significantly fewer students to study at American universities. I had always connected this with the fact that English language acquisition is not as prioritized in Japan as it is in Chinese and Korean schools. This may be true to some extent but now I know that it is because Japanese companies are not particularly looking for bilingual employees. The TOMODACHI Initiative wants to create a strong bond amongst Japanese and American youth in order to create a strong US-Japan relationship in the future, however the strict Japanese business culture at times prevents this from truly happening. From my seminar classmates I found out that a large part of the reason that none of them chose to study abroad in America (despite being in the British/American Studies department) is because they would have to defer the job hunting process by an entire year if they were to go as third year college students. In Japan the job hunting process starts in November of your third year. Nearly all Japanese university students follow this set process of attending lectures by companies about the work that they do, filling out applications and resumes by hand, and then finally going through an intense interview process that culminates in the student either receiving an acceptance call or not. Japanese companies want to higher newly grads. This therefore makes it harder for juniors and even sophomores to consider going abroad. Through these conversations with my seminar classmates I began to realize that we would be targeting first year students who may not have the strongest working knowledge of English. It was the gradual understanding of my fellow Japanese classmates that has made it possible for me to create a proper line up of activities for this event.
What does study abroad have to do with the goals of TOMODACHI, you ask? (Well you might not be asking this but I thought I would explain anyways). Study abroad is actually a pretty integral part of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s “Smart Power” method of diplomacy. Study abroad promotes a cultural understanding between Japan and America that will later be reflected in the politics of the two countries as the generation that studies abroad becomes the one to make political decisions. Japan and the United States are not going to go to war with each other anytime soon, if ever, and the citizens of each country must know each other in order to work with each other. I hope that this event is able to at least peak the interest of a few japanese students and serve as a place where new friendships can be made!
Photo Credit: TOMODACHI Summer 2012 Softbank Leadership Program