On November 3, 2019, the Government of Japan announced that Dr. Donald C. Hellmann, Professor Emeritus of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, has been awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, in recognition of his contributions in promoting academic exchanges and mutual

Justin Jesty, associate professor of Japanese language and literature, was recently awarded the 2019 ASAP (Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present) Book Prize for his book titled Art and Engagement in Early Postwar Japan (2018). In assessing the work, ASAP wrote “A virtuosic study of the intersection of art and politics,

Read Architect’s Newspaper article by Professor Ken Tadashi Oshima, co-chair of the UW Japan Studies Program.  Prof. Oshima was in Versailles, France for the 2019 Pritzker Architecture Prize award ceremony where Arata Isozaki was honored for his lifetime achievement in architecture.  “When I was old enough to begin an understanding of the world,” writes Isozaki,

Paul S. Atkins, Professor and Department Chair of Asian Languages and Literature, will be giving a talk at Japan Fair 2019 titled “REIWA: Origins and Significance of the New Japanese Reign Name“. Professor Atkins will give his talk on Saturday, June 29, 2019 at 4:10 p.m. at the Meydenbauer Center, Room #407 in Bellevue, WA. Everyone is welcome

2018 Newsletter Now On-Line Over the last year, the distinguished faculty and staff affiliated with the University of Washington’s Japan Studies Program have received numerous awards and recognition for their outstanding achievements in the field. What follows is a brief summary of these commendations.

Congratulations to Don Hellmann on the selection of his dissertation for republication in the Voices Revived series from the University of California Press.  Japanese Foreign Policy and Domestic Politics: The Peace Agreement with the Soviet Union is now available in on-demand paperback. “UC Press Voices Revived commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and

As an international relations scholar who studies space law and policy, I have come to realize what most people do not fully appreciate: Dealing with space debris is as much a national security issue as it is a technical one. Considering the debris circling the Earth as just an obstacle in the path of human

Jackson School Professor Mark Metzler co-hosted Episode 22 of the University of British Columbia’s “The Meiji at 150 Podcast Series”. In observance of the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, the project highlights the recent research and pedagogical approaches of specialists of Japanese history, literature, art, and culture. In the podcast, Professor Metzler discusses with host

Jackson School Professor Saadia Pekkanen is interviewed for the cover story “The US-Japan Space Alliance — the Most Critical Bilateral Relationship for Peace & Prosperity” of Japan Spotlight, a Japan Economic Forum journal. In her interview, Professor Pekkanen, an expert in outer space security, law, and policy, says that as the most important bilateral space relationship, the United

We are happy to share the news that today, July 17, 2018, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan announced the recipients of the Foreign Minister’s Commendation for 2018. The Japanese Language and Literature Program, Department of Asian Languages and Literature at the University of Washington, Seattle was among those selected for this honor. Since