The US-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON) has its origins in meetings held in Washington in 1961 between President Kennedy and Prime Minister Ikeda. In their joint communiqué of June 22, 1961, they agreed to the establishment of a United States-Japan Committee to study expanded cultural and educational cooperation between the two countries. Since its first meeting in Tokyo in January, 1962, CULCON has served to focus official and public attention in both the United States and Japan on the vital cultural and educational underpinnings of our relationship. CULCON has taken up a wide agenda in its meetings. It has worked to encourage more translation, to improve the respective images of the two countries in each other's textbooks and media, to promote sharing of museum exhibits and documents, and to stimulate exchanges of educators, students, journalists and artists. In so doing, it has helped lay the foundation of friendship and trust that now bears the enormous weight of the economic and political relationship that the United States shares with Japan. In the Tokyo Declaration, the result of the 1992 meeting between President Bush and Prime Minister Miyazawa, specific mention is made of CULCON as a means to continue exploring cultural and educational issues between Japan and the United States. In 1991, permanent secretariats were established in Tokyo and Washington to provide continuity to CULCON's activities. The US CULCON panel secretariat, administered by the US Information Agency, is housed at the Japan-United States Friendship Commission, an independent federal agency. At its April, 1993 and January, 1995 plenary sessions, CULCON recognized ON THE RECORD as a valuable resource in Japan-related topics for the US media. CULCON recommended that this directory be expanded to include specialists based in Japan and that a complete directory be compiled of American specialists for the Japanese media. This edition represents the implementation of the first of these recommendations. In further media efforts, the US CULCON panel sponsored a seminar with the Columbia School of Journalism on "US-Japan Cooperation in Public Affairs Broadcasting" in May, 1995 and has published "A Guide to US-Japan Documentary Coproduction" together with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Future activities of the US CULCON panel in media will be carried out under a new joint CULCON group on information access.

PURPOSE OF ON THE RECORD

Commensurate with the importance of current US-Japan relations is the need for more extensive, accurate and timely coverage of the issues. ON THE RECORD is specifically designed to provide the media with greater access to information on various aspects of the bilateral relationship through experts who cover the spectrum of specializations and points of view.

SPECIALISTS AND DATA COLLECTION

Specialists included in ON THE RECORD are identified as fulfilling five requirements:

1. they are experts on some aspect of the bilateral relationship;
2. they are willing to go ON THE RECORD in their fields of expertise;
3. they have proven expertise working with the media;
4. they are willing to meet the particular demands of the media;
5. they are currently based in the United States or Japan.

In the United States, appropriate specialists from the private sector, academe, think tanks and government (both US and Japanese) were identified through an elaborate network of referrals from the media and the field itself. In Japan, specialists were identified through a more formalized process by a committee coordinated by the Japan CULCON panel. The experts listed were asked to complete a detailed questionnaire. After the biographical information was entered into the ON THE RECORD database, each specialist was asked to review a draft copy of his/her individual entry, with the understanding that if a corrected version was not received by a specific date, the staff would assume that it accurately represented the individual's background. We apologize for any omissions. ON THE RECORD will continue to be updated, and we welcome referrals for the 1998-99 edition of individuals who fulfill the five requirements listed above. Please use the contact information listed below.

ENTRIES

The format of ON THE RECORD and the layout of each entry is designed to make this directory relevant to and accessible; it was originally designed in consultation with numerous print and broadcast journalists. After contact information (which now includes, when available, e-mail addresses), the media for which each individual is willing to grant interviews are listed. This is followed by languages in which the specialist can conduct interviews. Experts were asked to select specializations that best describe their expertise or to add their own where the list of suggested specializations was inadequate. The general category of specializations for each bio are presented in caps, under which appear specific subject specializations in bolded type. Specializations are listed alphabetically under each category heading. Some listings are more specific then others. For this edition, we asked experts to limit their number of choices in specializations. In future editions, we will continue to refine this aspect of ON THE RECORD. Professional experience, time spent in Japan or the United States, and publications are included as background. They are not meant to be exhaustive, but rather to give a general sense of the specialist's background. The current title and affiliation of each specialist are listed at the top of the entry as contact information and not repeated under the professional experience section. In the case that a specialist holds concurrent positions, one position is listed at the beginning of the entry, and the second is recorded under professional experience. In general, professional activities are not listed, such as board memberships, ect. Time spent in Japan (for US citizens) and in the United States (for Japanese citizens) lists periods of one year or longer. All shorter stays are recorded as "repeated brief trips." Specialists are indexed by more than 300 specializations, geographic location, affiliation and language in which the can conduct an interview. For easy reference, (US) or (J) following the expert's name in the specializations, affiliations, and language indexes indicated the geographical base of the individual. A list of specializations proceeds the indexes. Appendices includes a list of Embassies of Japan and consulates and selected useful organizations in the United States and Japan with media contacts where possible. We have also included in the appendix section an article written by NHK's Chief Commentator, Mr. Hatsuhisa Takashima, entitled "American Television Interviews." Finally, despite every precaution, errors may occur. We apologize for these and would appreciate hearing about any inaccuracies so they can be corrected in the next edition.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In completing the third, expanded edition of ON THE RECORD, there are many individuals to thank on both sides of the Pacific for their support and expertise. First and foremost, thanks to the specialists for answering phone calls, returning questionnaires and recommending colleagues. Many thanks to the Japan CULCON panel and the Japan CULCON secretariat for overseeing the considerable task of selecting and gathering information on the specialists based in Japan as well as the appendices of Japan-based organizations. With the generous support of the Hoso Bunka Foundation and the Japan Foundation, the Japan Association for Cultural Exchange (ACE Japan) was tasked with compiling the list of specialists and collecting the necessary information about each of them. The Foreign Press Program, Japan Echo and Asia Foundation in Tokyo provided valuable information about specialists in each field. Bruce Dunning of CBS, Tokyo, and Hatsuhisa Takashima of NHK gave considerable time and valuable advice on a range of issues. Many thanks to Richard Wood, the current US CULCON Chairman, to Ken Pyle, the US CULCON Chairman during most of the preparation for this edition, and to Eric Gangloff for their invaluable direction and insights. The US CULCON Panel Media Working Group, chaired by Briana Miller, CULCON editorial assistant, for her many hours of phone calling, data entry, proofreading and cheerful dedication.

Pamela L. Fields
March, 1996