About the Conference

The Japan-America Student Conference (JASC) is a conference designed for and led by Japanese and American students.

JASC began in 1934 as a response to the Second World War. Constructing and maintaining US-Japan bilateral relations were more important than ever. Having lasted over eight decades, JASC has built a strong network of alumni spanning the globe. While the U.S. - Japan relationship has evolved dramatically since the Conference’s founding 86 years ago, its mission has remained unchanged: to foster peace through people-to-people diplomacy and empower the next generation of U.S. - Asia leaders.

This year’s conference will mark the JASC’s diamond jubilee, an important milestone in JASC’s history. The 75th JASC hopes to act as both a time to reflect on the accomplishments of JASCs prior and look ahead to the ever growing importance of the US-Japan relationship. This year’s JASC plans to celebrate the previous achievements of JASC and aims to reimagine JASC through hands-on cross-cultural collaboration.

Prior to attending JASC, students are placed into one of six unique Roundtables where they focus on a specific field of interest with Japanese and American peers. Roundtables serve as a way for students to build common academic foundations and ultimately examine that year’s programming through the lens of
their respective Roundtable.

The conference acts similarly to any other academic conference, hosting a variety of speakers and lecturers as well as hands-on experiences over the course of three weeks. Each year, JASC focuses on a variety of pertinent issues critical to the US-Japan relationship, including national security, the changing climate, among others.

How can I apply for next year’s conference?

The Executive Committee for JASC 75 will hand over their responsibilities to new student leaders at the end of the conference in late August. Those new leaders will share more information about their plans for recruitment in the fall. Applications typically require a personal statement and short answer essay, resume, and recent unofficial transcript and are due in December. Bookmark this website for the latest information.