MFP No. 21 Welcomed to Tokyo
September 1, 2016
MFP No. 21 Welcomed to Tokyo
Members of the twenty-first group of Mansfield Fellows were welcomed to Tokyo at an August 31 reception hosted by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Personnel Authority (NPA), and the Mansfield Foundation. The Fellows’ formal welcome included remarks from Shunsuke Takei (Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs), Kenji Ebata (Director General for Secretariat’s Policy Matters, NPA), Yoshimasa Hayashi (House of Councillors), Jason P. Hyland (Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy), Masanori Tanimoto (Governor of Ishikawa Prefecture), and Mansfield President and CEO Frank Jannuzi. The Fellows also were informally welcomed by guests including members of Japan’s National Diet, representatives of the Fellows’ host agencies, business leaders, and other friends of the Foundation.
Over the past week, the Fellows have participated in a series of meetings to prepare them for their placements in Tokyo. These included a host agency meeting at NPA and orientation sessions at the Mansfield Foundation Tokyo office and the Naganuma School (pictured above), where the Fellows will continue language training during their ten months in Tokyo. The new Fellows also were briefed by U.S. Embassy Tokyo officials, including three alumni Fellows assigned to the embassy: Nathan Purdy (Senior Federal Aviation Administration Representative, Pacific Rim, Mansfield Fellow 2011-2013), Cameron Salony (Deputy Director, Department of Energy Japan Office, Mansfield Fellow 2014-15) and Phil Dobberfuhl (Director of Air Force Programs, Mutual Defense Assistance Office, Mansfield Fellow 2013-2014).
