The directors of major Japanese Studies Centers in North America gathered at the University of California at Berkeley for a symposium on the state of Japanese studies. The meeting not only discussed the past and present status of the field but also featured a spirited examination of the special issues and challenges that lie ahead.

The Center for Global Partnership (CGP), in conjunction with the Association for Professional Schools in International Affairs (APSIA), implemented the Japan Travel Program for U.S. Future Leaders, taking 13 Masters Degree candidates to Japan for ten days.

The Fulbright/US-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON) Joint Symposium, ¡ÈJapan and U.S. Soft Power: Addressing Global Challenges,¡É took place on June 12 in Tokyo. Nearly 300 invitees from government, business, academic, mass media, cultural and civil society circles of Japan and the US attended.

The Japan Foundation, New York hosted a lecture by Dr. Kazuo Kawasaki entitled "Peace-Keeping Design - From Wheelchair to Vaccine Injection," at the SONY Club in midtown Manhattan.

The Center for Global Partnership (CGP), with the cooperation of NAJAS (National Assocation of Japan America Societies), hosted a workshop led by two independent consultants, targeted to meet the challenges facing emerging Japan America Societies (JAS).

The Yale University Art Gallery held its one-day symposium on Japanese tea culture on Friday April 17, 2009 in conjunction with the special exhibition Tea Culture of Japan: Chanoyu Past and Present.

The Association of Asian Studies (AAS) held annual conference in Chicago from March 26-March 29 and the Japan Foundation and Center for Global Partnership hosted its annual reception.

Symposium was held in New York on March 16, co-organized by Japan Foundation and Japan Society. This was aimed to conduct multilateral discussions to conceive of ways to develop the next generation of scholars, curators, collectors and museum-goers of Japanese Art in the U.S.