Mission

The MIT Japan Program:

Educates and prepares MIT scientists, technologists and managers for Japan related careers
Educates US business and government professors to understand and be effective in a Japanese business and scientific context through training, consulting, meeting and symposia
Sponsors Japan related research collaborations at MIT
Develops comprehensive self-paced training materials to help professions understand the and be effective in the Japanese business environment

Professor Richard Samuels
Ford International Professor of Political Science
Founding Director MIT Japan Program

"Japanese studies in the United States has come a long way in the two decades since the MIT Japan Program was inaugurated. Back in the early 1980's, Japan was already a technologically advanced nation but it was far less transparent to American scientists, engineers, and managers than any other comparable nation.

"In part this was because American universities that had been educating students about Japan were focused on art, history, politics, and society. None was reaching out to science and engineering students. MIT perceived this as a problem for both countries and established the first program of applied Japanese studies in the United States. Our work here at MIT was met with great enthusiasm across the country as similar programs were established with public and private support. Today students from every discipline and with every career ambition routinely study Japan in the United States.

"This is critically important if the United States and Japan are to have a mutually beneficial relationship, in which both nations remain technologically advanced and innovative. The MIT Japan Program remains committed to creating technologically sophisticated professionals who understand Japan. It is part of our larger commitment through the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives to create global scientists and engineers whose networks will open doors and facilitate a more balanced flow of communication between the United States and the rest of the world."

Professor Richard Samuels
Ford International Professor of Political Science
Founding Director MIT Japan Program