Harvard University Professor Susan J. Pharr Receives Japanese Imperial Decoration

As one of the leading specialists on Japan in the United States, Professor Susan J. Pharr, Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics at Harvard University, has contributed to the study of Japan, to promoting intellectual exchange between Japan and the United States, and to the training and nurturing of young scholars of Japan.

Professor Pharr is responsible for two main centers supporting Japanese studies and enhancing academic and intellectual exchange on Japan at Harvard: the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies. Professor Pharr, in her years as Director of the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, has organized numerous seminars, successfully inviting distinguished guest speakers from the United States, Japan, and other countries, with participation from the Greater Boston academic community. This long-running seminar series has presented a valuable opportunity for deepening the understanding of U.S.-Japan relations among Japanese and American intellectuals. During her tenure, dozens of outstanding people from academia, government, business and journalism, mainly from Japan, have spent an academic year in the Program under her guidance to conduct research and participate in dialogues on Japan and its relations with Asia and the rest of the world.

Also, as Director of the Reischauer Institute since 2004, Professor Pharr has worked to stimulate the academic exchange between Japan and Harvard. Under her leadership, Harvard established two summer school programs in Japan for undergraduates. The Institute also expanded opportunities for participation in its internship program and in research activities on Japan by increasing financial support and facilitating travel to Japan for students.

Nationally and internationally, Professor Pharr has contributed to Japanese studies. She has nurtured many young scholars of Japan during her more than 20 years at Harvard. Many of her former graduate students in Japanese politics have gained academic posts at major universities in the United States and other countries.

The Japanese Government, in recognition of Professor Pharr’s distinguished contributions to the study of Japan, intellectual exchange between our two countries and the nurturing of scholars of Japan, is delighted to announce her decoration of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.

Source: Consulate General of Japan in Boston, April 29, 2008