[Moderator's Note: The following is copied from another list, as it is likely of interest to several SSJ-FORUM subscribers.]

I'm passing along information about an opportunity which might be of interest to graduate students (or undergrads) who are interested in international relations in Northeast Asia, speak fluent Japanese, and are able to take off to Sapporo for two weeks starting this coming Sunday.

The Sapporo International Plaza (with funds and/or support from organizations like MOFA, the UN, NHK, and the Hokkaido Government) has organized a two-week intensive study program on "New Cooperative Relations in Northeast Asia and America" starting July 30. Their plan was to have three students each from Russia, China, Korea, Japan, and the U.S., and right now they are fully booked except that they need two more Americans at very short notice. They will pay airfare, food, and lodging for a two week stay, but there is 40,000 yen participation fee (which might be negotiated lower since these folks need participants on such short notice).

Participants must be American and must be students, but they can apparently be located anywhere (Tokyo, the U.S., Europe). Lectures will be conducted in Japanese, so the person must be able to handle that. My guess is that an American grad student doing work on foreign relations in the region (Paul Midford, are you out there?) would be ideal. Because there is so little time, you would need to get in touch with them right away.

The American Consul in Sapporo has been asked to help find students, and so you should contact Dan Kritenbrink there by fax at 81-11-643-1283. He can also fax you additional information if you are interested.

Len Schoppa

Len Schoppa ljs2k[atx]virginia.edu
Department of Government & Foreign Affairs 232 Cabell Hall; University of Virginia; Charlottesville, VA 22901 (804) 924-3211 Fax (804) 924-3359