Program on US-Japan Relations
The Program on US-Japan Relations was founded in 1980 in response to Japan's rise as a leading global power. It seeks to advance knowledge of US-Japan relations; contemporary Japanese politics, economy, society, and culture in comparative perspective; common problems of developed democracies; the globalization of Japan's popular culture; the rise of civil society in Asia; the international relations of Asia; and global governance of issues such as trade, digital governance, environment, and public health. The program enables outstanding scholars and professionals from Japan, the United States, and other countries to conduct research within these areas of inquiry.
The program sponsors a weekly seminar series, an annual Distinguished Visitor program, Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS), conferences and symposia, and other events. Through a competitive application process every academic year, the program selects approximately sixteen postdoctoral fellows, visiting scholars, and practitioner associates. Enjoying the status of University Officers while at Harvard, they take part in the program's research activities, complete a research paper, and publicly present the results of their research. Their work is published as part of the program's Occasional Paper Series.
The program advances the educational mission of the University in a variety of ways, including fostering “research pairs” between the program's associates and Harvard graduate students, and working with the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies to provide internship opportunities for Harvard College students in Japan.
Administration
The director of the Program on US-Japan Relations is Christina L. Davis, Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics, Department of Government, and Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor at Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Shinju Fujihira is the executive director. Sophie Welsh is the research assistant.
Christina L. Davis
cldavis@harvard.edu
Susan J. Pharr
susan_pharr@harvard.edu
Shinju Fujihira
sfujihira@wcfia.harvard.edu
Current Affiliates (2025–2026)
Christina L. Davis
Research interests: Politics of international trade; foreign policy of East Asia and Japan; and geopolitics and international organizations.
Shinju Fujihira
Susan J. Pharr
Tomoko Takahashi
Research interests: International institutions; East Asia; Southeast Asia; Global South; international organizations; power; and rules and norms.
All Programs & Projects
The Weatherhead Center hosts formal programs that link faculty and affiliates working in similar research areas. Projects at the Weatherhead Center are discrete activities that connect interdisciplinary scholars, practitioners, and students working in a specific research area. Projects may include student internships, multiyear research activities, and more.
The Canada Program, made possible by the William Lyon Mackenzie King Endowment, presents rich intellectual opportunities for Canadian studies at Harvard: graduate and undergraduate courses offered by distinguished visiting Canadianist scholars across the social sciences and professional schools, dissertation research grants for Harvard graduate students, thesis research and travel funding for Harvard undergraduates, funding for Harvard faculty-hosted Canadian studies specialists, a vibrant seminar series of esteemed Canadianist guest speakers, and an annual faculty conference.
The Program on US-Japan Relations was founded in response to Japan's rise as a leading global power. We seek to advance knowledge of US-Japan relations and contemporary Japanese economy, politics, society, and culture from comparative, global, and transnational perspectives. Every academic year, we host approximately sixteen postdoctoral fellows, visiting scholars, and practitioner associates to conduct research on campus. We sponsor a weekly hybrid seminar series, biweekly associate workshops, Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS), an annual Distinguished Visitor program, conferences on Harvard campus and in Tokyo, and other events.
SCANCOR at the Weatherhead Center explores the role of formal organizations—including corporations, nongovernmental organizations, and professional associations—in the creation of international social, environmental, economic, and political conventions. Our project is a partnership between the Weatherhead Center and the Scandinavian Consortium for Organizational Research (SCANCOR), a membership-supported nonprofit sponsored by leading universities and business schools in Scandinavia. We welcome visiting scholars to Harvard for up to one year to use the tools of organizational science to work on international topics. While at Harvard, visitors connect with scholars from across the campus, and around Boston, through various seminars and workshops.
The Sustainability Transparency Accountability Research (STAR) Lab brings together a group of scholars at Harvard University and beyond conducting research on new business initiatives aimed at improving accountability and sustainability as well as generating positive social and environmental impacts. Among these initiatives are programs addressing issues in global supply chains and the impacts of multinational businesses in developing countries, climate change and environmental sustainability, discrimination and human rights, and more. New research is critical for the design and evaluation of these initiatives and for understanding their impacts on business, social, and environmental outcomes. We support collaborations among Harvard scholars and build partnerships between the group and a diverse set of companies, with headquarters and operations in many different countries.
The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies is dedicated to increasing our knowledge of the culture, history, and institutions of the world's major regions and countries. To accomplish this goal, we sponsor the Academy Scholars Program, which identifies and supports outstanding scholars at the start of their academic careers whose work combines excellence in a social science discipline with a command of the language and knowledge or expertise of countries or regions outside of the United States or Canada. Their scholarship spans traditional disciplinary divisions and elucidates comparative, transnational, or domestic issues, past or present. Academy Scholars are appointed for a two-year, in-residence, postdoctoral fellowship. They are mentored by the Harvard Academy Senior Scholars, a cohort of faculty members who are committed to supporting the Academy Scholars as they work to achieve their potential.
Learn more about The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies >
The Weatherhead Scholars Program offers visiting faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and experienced practitioners the opportunity to spend up to one year at Harvard conducting comparative international research. During their time in residence, affiliates participate in the weekly Scholars’ seminar and contribute to the Center’s many intellectual activities. They may also audit courses and engage with the undergraduate and graduate student communities.