The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP), a nonprofit organization that supports US-related grass-roots exchange and regional ties, commissioned the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE) to conduct surveys of locally based US-Japan exchange activities in the early 1990s, in both the United States and Japan. Over a two-year period beginning in July 1991, state-by-state research was conducted in the United States, with the findings for twenty-four states and the District of Columbia presented in Volume I, published in March 1993. This volume presents the findings for the remaining 26 states.

Each chapter in the volume contains most of the following information on US-Japan exchanges for a specific state: historical background, economic relations with Japan, educational programs and exchanges, state and municipal exchange activity, cultural events and exchanges, and attitudes towards Japan. An appendix to each chapter lists all local organizations involved in international activities.

An initial chapter summarizes these results, stating that “bilateral relations have diversified into an intricate web of regional ties.” The chapter notes that attitudes toward and knowledge of Japan varies, often depending on the presence of a local Japanese-American community or the effect on the local economy of Japanese direct investment or economic competition.