Two groups of Japanese university students and educators are participating in a weeklong program at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center and the Mineta-Simpson Institute through Sept. 12.

Supported by a $158,622 grant from the Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation, the Educators in Exchange: Bridging US-Japan Education on Japanese American Incarceration program hosts a delegation of seven students and a professor from Japan’s Meiji Gakuin University, as well as a separate group of six educators from Japan. 

The two groups are spending a week engaging in site tours, collections-based activities and a training workshop with HMWF staff, former incarcerees and camp descendants. Haruka Takaku, HMWF’s cultural liaison, and Director of Education Sybil Kawano are administering the program, which they developed. 

In November, a delegation from Heart Mountain will complete the second part of the exchange program when it travels to Japan for conferences at Meiji Gakuin and Josai International universities and exchanges with museums in Yokohama and Hiroshima.

The project seeks to advance international understanding of Japanese American incarceration by establishing partnerships between HMWF, Japanese university educators, and Japanese museum professionals. One outcome will be the development of an educational program designed to resonate with Japanese audiences.