The following students are pleased to announce their graduation with a Master of Arts in Japan Studies as of June 13th, 2019.
Chris Choi
Area of study: I studied Japanese businesses, specifically Japanese medical device firms competing in the US. I also studied Japanese national security, namely modernization of the Japan Self Defense Force, the Northern Territories/Southern Kuriles dispute, and the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands dispute.
Post-graduation plans: After graduation in June 2019, I will work as a Consumer Marketing Manager at Philips Healthcare, at their Bothell, WA campus.
Dylan Plung
Area of study: Upon entering the JSIS Japan Studies Program, I began to develop a keen interest in World War II Japan and US-Japan relations. In particular, I began to research the firebombing of Japan and learned about the replica Japanese villages that were erected in Utah during the war to develop and test napalm. After that, I wanted to learn more about the social ramifications of these developments and policy shifts aimed at, and within, Japan, so for my capstone Essay of Distinction I focused in on the Japanese evacuee experience at the end of the war–how the people in Japan were directly affected by the firebombing.
Post-graduation plans: After graduation I have received a Blakemore-Freeman Fellowship to fund Stanford’s Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies 2019-20 in Yokohama. After I complete that program, I hope to continue on to work in either academia or in an Asia policy-related think-tank like the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), where I currently intern. The Japan Studies Program at UW gave me the skills, connections, and opportunities to succeed thus far, and I will take all of these lessons with me wherever I go.
Monica Twork
Area of study: During my time in the Japan Studies program, I have enjoyed researching topics ranging from the post-war journey of imperial Japanese military maps, to the international controversy around the creation of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.
Post-graduation plans: After graduation, I will be putting my International Studies degree to work as a librarian at a college with a large number of students from diverse international backgrounds (including Japan!).
Daniel White
Area of study: I graduated from the Japan Studies MA program with a focus on regional security and the US-Japan Alliance. My graduate research papers examined the future of the US-Japan Alliance and the intertwined narrative of the atomic bomb and the US Secretary of War, Henry Stimson.
Post-graduation plans: I am currently looking towards testing for the Foreign Service in addition to searching for internationally related work within the private and public sector.