Opening Hearts, Expanding Minds, Shaping Futures: Sixty Years of US–Japan Study Abroad for Peace

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Historical, Methodological, & Epistemological Perspectives of International Mobility

Proposal

Introduction
This study explores the long-term impacts of study abroad programs as a strategy for advancing peace through a retrospective case study of one of the longest-standing bilateral exchange programs between Japan and the United States. Established in 1963, the program has connected undergraduate students, faculty members, and local communities across six decades. While study abroad is often examined for its contributions to internationalization and economic outcomes, this study centers peace as a long-term social outcome of intercultural engagement. A humanistic approach is taken to examine how individuals and communities engage with the program over time, specifically student participants (semester- or year-long study abroad), faculty participants (resident directors and faculty development), and local host individuals and organizations in the United States and Japan. The study finds that study abroad programs can serve as sustained educational mechanisms for building peace. Drawing on archival documentation and primary data collection in Japan and the United States, the study investigates how meaningful international education, when grounded in critical reflection and authentic human connection, can promote a culture of peace that endures across generations.

Research Framework
This study builds upon the concept of internationalization for society, which reframes international higher education as a public good contributing to societal transformation rather than simply serving institutional competitiveness or individual advancement. Within this context, peace is conceptualized not as the absence of conflict but as the active presence of social connection, mutual understanding, and cooperation across cultural and national boundaries. Three interrelated theoretical lenses frame the study and analysis to understand individual and community-level transformations, revealing how study abroad functions as a long-term pathway for cultivating peace and shared futures.
1. Conscientization (Freire, 1970): Emphasizes the development of critical awareness of one’s social and political positioning within global structures of power and inequality.
2. Transformative Learning (Mezirow, 1991): Frames intercultural encounters as disorienting experiences that catalyze shifts in values, worldview, and empathy through critical reflection.
3. Internationalization for Society: Positions international education as a force for collective peace and intercultural solidarity.

Research Context
The US–Japan relationship offers a particularly rich context for this study. Historically marked by conflict and reconciliation, their postwar educational exchanges have served as key instruments of diplomacy and mutual understanding. Japan–US study abroad programs reflect not only bilateral priorities but also broader shifts in Asia–Pacific dynamics and global higher education trends. Focusing on this partnership offers insight into how long-standing, mission-driven mobility programs can foster peace within complex political and cultural histories.

Research Questions
1. In what ways does the Japan–US study abroad program function as a long-term strategy for peacebuilding?
2. How do student and faculty participants reflect on their international experience and its influence on their academic, professional, and personal lifepaths?
3. What are the long-term outcomes for local host individuals and organizations in the United States and Japan who interact with international students and faculty?
4. How do these outcomes extend beyond individual experiences to contribute to peace?

Methodology
This study employs a retrospective case study design using historical and qualitative methods. The profiled program offers a rare context for examining the peace-oriented outcomes of sustained academic exchange. Data sources included the following and were analyzed thematically to identify patterns of transformation, engagement, and peacebuilding. Triangulation provides a strong foundation for understanding the multidimensional nature of peacebuilding through international education:
1. Archival Document Analysis: Program brochures, administrative records, newsletters, and correspondence from 1963 to 2023 were reviewed to trace the program’s goals, evolution, and partnership-building.
2. Qualitative Interviews: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with student participants, faculty members (including resident directors), program staff, and host community actors in both the United States and Japan.

Key Findings
1. Lifelong Transformations: Alumni consistently reported that their study abroad experience shaped their values, professional paths, and global outlook.
2. Peacebuilding through Relationships: Interpersonal connections with peers, host families, faculty, and local residents were pivotal in developing intercultural understanding and reducing stereotypes.
3. Sustained Binational Engagement: The program contributed to long-term academic partnerships, inter-institutional collaboration, and local relationships that endured across political shifts.
4. Faculty Development and Institutional Impact: Faculty participants reported enhanced intercultural awareness that informed their teaching, mentoring, and campus-based global initiatives.
5. Host Community Outcomes: Host families, staff, and organizations described reciprocal learning and cultural enrichment. Many maintained ties with international participants.
6. Gateway to Broader Engagement: For many US participants, Japan served as a gateway to deeper regional understanding and long-term engagement with Asia. Japanese participants similarly described their time in the United States as a turning point in developing global perspectives.

Discussion
This study shows how long-term study abroad programs, grounded in cooperative partnerships and shared values, can serve as intentional platforms for peacebuilding. Unlike transactional or short-term internationalization models, the profiled program cultivated multigenerational relationships rooted in empathy, reflection, and mutual responsibility. By centering peace as a valid outcome of international education, this study contributes to a growing call to reframe global learning not only as a private or professional asset but as a public good. Study abroad becomes both a personal journey and a bridge for building more peaceful futures across borders.

Contribution to the Field
This study contributes to the field of comparative and international education in the following ways:
1. It offers one of the few retrospective, empirically grounded cases of study abroad as a peacebuilding strategy.
2. It integrates student, faculty, staff, and host community perspectives within a unified analytical frame, expanding beyond student-centered narratives.
3. It advances the concept of internationalization for society by showing how long-term study abroad fosters intercultural solidarity and global cooperation.

Relevance to CIES and the SAIS SIG
This study speaks directly to the CIES 2026 theme by examining education’s role in promoting peace across local, national, and international contexts. It contributes to the SAIS SIG through its focus on academic mobility, long-term impact, and community-engaged internationalization.

References
Not required here, but available upon request.

Author

• Sarah R Asada, Kyoritsu Women's University