New Voices from Japan: Capacity Strengthening for
Young Researchers Call for Applications for 2015 Cohort

The Social Science Research Council is pleased to call for applications to join the 2015 cohort of the “New Voices from Japan” program which provides capacity strengthening for promising young Japanese researchers working on topics of importance to both the US and Japanese academic and policy communities. The Sasakawa Peace Foundation will fund this program.

The Japan-US relationship is often described as the most important diplomatic and cultural relationship in the Asia Pacific region. One of the keys to the long alliance and friendship has been the development of frank and open discussions on a wide-range of policy issues; those discussions presume well-informed experts on both sides who are familiar with the issues and assumptions of their partners. The NVJ program addresses a pressing need to develop a new generation who can actively participate in the dialogues.

New Voices from Japan offers opportunities for engagement and dialogue in the United States to members of a cohort of young Japanese policy experts. Mentors and trainers guide the cohort in the development of the skills they need to be fully able to participate in international conferences, workshops, public lectures and policy debates. The program stresses building skills in communicating ideas orally, writing strong position papers through developmental editing, and presenting research in forms appropriate for a range of relevant American audiences. The engagement and dialogue tour in the US includes opportunities for participants to speak at public lectures, brown bag seminars and small group discussions with policy professionals. Through these activities, the program facilitates cross learning between the Japanese and US academic and policy communities.

Cohorts are selected on an annual basis and each member of the cohort will be invited to participate in one of the two annual dialogue trips to the United States. Program meetings for the 2015 cohort will begin in April.

The program will recruit young scholars with expertise on issues central to Japan-US policy discussions such as national security; foreign policy; Japanese politics and diplomacy; Japanese business and economy; energy and environment; development, gender, and human rights; immigration; and the challenges of aging societies.

Eligibility:

• Japanese nationals or permanent residents in Japan
• Fulltime scholars and researchers interested in joining policy dialogues with counterparts in the United States.
• Recipients of a Ph.D. or terminal degree within the last ten years, or equivalent professional experience
• Policy practitioners with equivalent expertise in the private sector are also eligible.

Deadline for applications to join the 2015 cohort is March 15, 2015.
Those interested in applying should submit the following items:

1. A cover letter (either in English or Japanese) with contact information
2. CV, including a list of publications and presentations
3. A brief statement of your research interests and how they relate to policy issues. The statement should be 2-3 pages long; please submit this statement in both English and Japanese. The statement should cover the following points:
   1. Research interests and current research topic
   2. Why you want to join the program
   3. How your interests relate to current Japan-American policy debate
4. A list of previous study or research experiences outside of Japan, English presentations at international conferences (in Japan or overseas), as well as participation in international collaborative projects.

These materials should be submitted to the New Voices of Japan program at(Please change ★ to ＠ when you send mail.)
Questions about the program can also be sent to the same address.

http://www.ssrc-nvj.info/

The Social Science Research Council（SSRC）