MFP No. 20 Concludes Fellowship Year
July 7, 2016
MFP No. 20 Concludes Fellowship Year
Last week members of the twentieth group of Mansfield Fellows (pictured above) concluded their Fellowship year in Japan. One of their final program activities was a June 27 debriefing and farewell event at the National Personnel Authority (NPA), which plays a critical role in securing Mansfield Fellows’ placements in Japanese government agencies and ministries. The Fellows prepare reports on what they gained from their Fellowship experience, and last week they presented their reports in Japanese to NPA Director General Kenji Ebata (pictured below) and other NPA officials.
Mansfield Fellows are required to return to federal service for at least two years after their Fellowship year, and three members of the twentieth group have been assigned to U.S. government positions in Japan. Daniel Benson (United States Marine Corps) will serve as U.S. Marine Corps Liaison Officer to the Japan Ground Self Defense Force. Jeffrey Kim’s (United States Navy) new role will be Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, U.S. Navy. Zensaku Munn (United States Air Force) will serve as International BMD (Ballistic Missile Defense) Program Manager, Missile Defense Agency, Mutual Defense Assistance Office at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. Additionally, John Wright’s (United States Air Force) new job will involve direct cooperation with Japanese Air Self Defense Force counterparts. He will serve as Country Director, North East Asia (Japan), Chile and Colombia, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, International Affairs Division, Northeast Asia Branch.
Soon after the twentieth group of Fellows wrapped up their Fellowship year, the twenty-first group arrived in Japan to begin theirs. The new Fellows are participating in orientation meetings at the Foundation’s Tokyo office this week and on July 9 will head to Kanazawa for a seven-week course of Japanese language study.
