American academics are expressing concern about the decline of programs related to Japanese language, culture, history, art and other social sciences at universities, saying that this could threaten future trade - business opportunities as well as key diplomatic relations.
A new report released in November by scholar Adam Liff - a leading expert on Japanese foreign policy and politics at Indiana University - said that there has been a "serious decline in commitment" by the group of top 100 US universities to teaching and research on modern US-Japan relations, as well as Japan's foreign policy and security.
If this trend is not addressed for a country that both the current and former governments have called W Washingtons most important industry-Pacific partner and ally, Liff noted. The consequences will quickly extend beyond the scope of academia.
According to Mr. Liff, American research universities are not only a place to train a large number of scholars and future leaders in government, industry and civil society, but also a key to helping many young Americans approach and understand Japan as well as the importance of this country.
Meanwhile, Jeff Kingston, director of Asia Studies at Temple University's Tokyo campus, said the withdrawal from the Japanese sector was a "close-up" decision and it stemmed from many factors, including "local thinking, lack of science, short-term vision and the movement to make America great again".
Kingston warned that the consequences of a lack of experts knowledgeable about US-Japan relations could be very serious, affecting most government agencies in Washington.
According to Mr. Kingston, the US always needs a multilingual and locally- proficient workforce to ensure global benefits, because the world economy is an inseparable part of Washington.
The expert also compared the cutting of Japan-related education programs to the narrowing of soft power tools such as the US Agency for International Development USAID - an action that he said was "self-harmful" and undermined the influence of the US.
