After a successful debut at George Mason University in Virginia in 2010, CEPEX is proud to be sponsoring the 4^th Annual Japan Studies Award in 2013. The goals of this program are to support young future professionals interested in Japan and to strengthen the overall U.S.-Japan relationship.

The 2013 Japan Studies Award is open to all undergraduate students in good standing currently enrolled in degree programs at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia; George Washington University and American University. There is no restriction on the major or field of study that the student is pursuing. Nor is it required that the participating student be enrolled in a Japanese language course.

For consideration for this award, candidates will be evaluated by submitting a completed application packet by the deadline, which will include a variety of short answer questions and two essay questions. Select candidates will be asked to participate in a brief interview at CEPEX headquarters in Washington, D.C. The final winner will be chosen based on the quality of the submitted application packet and a successful interview. This year’s application deadline will be March 15, 2013.

The winner of the 2013 Japan Studies Award will participate in a two-week internship at the Washington D.C. branch office of Sojitz Corporation of America, a company with strong ties to Japan, beginning late May. During the DC internship, the student will have the opportunity to sit in on hearings on Capitol Hill and attend events at local think-tanks. The winner will also be able to experience working with Japanese speakers and will contribute to office operations at Sojitz Corporation though meaningful research on international policy topics.

After completing the internship in Washington, the 2013 Japan Studies Award winner will be invited on a brief trip to Japan. The student will be able to further their interest in Japanese language, culture and international business through a short internship at Sojitz Corporation’s headquarters in Tokyo. For more information about CEPEX and last year’s award, please visit http://www.cepex.org/. The full application packet and a timeline for the 2013 Award will be available in December 2013 on the CEPEX website.

Best of luck,

Christy Busch and Nicole Uehara, CEPEX Co-Directors of the Washington, D.C. office

 About CEPEX

The Center for Professional Exchange (CEPEX) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the U.S.-Japan relationship and cultivating the next generation of Japan experts. For more information about our sponsors, please visit http://www.sojitz-zaidan.or.jp/ and http://www.ana.co.jp/asw/wws/us/e/.