I am writing to invite you to a reception honoring Dr. Qiaoyan Li Rosenberg, the inaugural recipient of the United States-Japan Foundation Scholar Dissertation Award, on March 13, 2026, from 7:15 PM to 9:15 PM PST in Oceanview Suite 7 at the Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel, as part of the Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference. Refreshments will be served. 

Dr. Rosenberg, a recent graduate of UCLA's Department of Sociology and currently a postdoctoral fellow at the  Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University, received this recognition for her dissertation, "Labor Migration Programs in Japan: A Three-Step Pathway to Permanent Residence, but Precarious Labor for All." Based on 14 months of fieldwork and over 100 in-depth interviews, her research offers vital insights into Japan's Technical Intern Training Program and Specified Skilled Worker system--work that the award committee praised as expertly engaging Japanese sources while speaking to key debates in the social sciences.

For those of you who nominated your outstanding students for this year's award, thank you for your cooperation in the selection process. The strong field of submissions we received speaks to the vitality of Japanese studies scholarship today.

The reception will provide an opportunity to hear directly from Dr. Rosenberg about her groundbreaking research. Two judges from the distinguished award committee--Sabine Frühstück (UC Santa Barbara) and Kiyoteru Tsutsui (Stanford University)--will also be present to share insights about this year's award and the evaluation process.

This is also an occasion to learn about next year's competition. The 2026 award has been renamed the Richard J. Samuels Dissertation Award in Japanese Studies, honoring the distinguished scholar's contributions to our field. Nominations are now open for dissertations accepted between January 1, 2025, and June 13, 2026, with a submission deadline of June 15, 2026. 

Additionally, representatives will be available to discuss the USJLP program for emerging leaders in US-Japan relations and grants in the field of Japanese Studies.

I hope you can join us in celebrating Dr. Rosenberg's achievement and in supporting the next generation of scholars in our field. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Warm regards,

David Slater (slater.h.david@gmail.com)