Ahead of the 2026 Japan study tour for Congressional staffers, JCIE USA hosted a pre-trip lunch briefing for the participants featuring two experts as speakers: Yuko Mukai, Washington Correspondent, Yomiuri Shimbun; and James L. Schoff, Distinguished Senior Fellow (Non-Resident), Sasakawa Peace Foundation. They were joined by special guests Jun Nishida, Congressional Affairs Section, Embassy of Japan in the United States, and Paige Cottingham-Streater, Executive Director, Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission. The discussion covered Japan’s domestic politics and public opinion, as well as the latest policy developments in Japan regarding AI, technology, and innovation, which will be a major theme of this year’s tour.

The Japan study tour, which will take the delegation to Tokyo and Toyama from October 19–23, is designed to deepen the staffers’ understanding of Japanese politics, economy, and foreign policy and explore areas for US-Japan cooperation. The tour will include a series of dialogues with Diet members and representatives from government ministries and agencies, as well as experts from start-ups, business groups, media, and think tanks. In Toyama, they will have meetings with local government officials and businesses and will conduct site visits to learn about data-driven smart city planning, developing age-friendly communities, and plans to construct one of the largest data centers in the country.

This year’s study tour participants include: