There will be a reunion party in Japan on June 15, 2013.  Any alums from Willamette University and/or the American Studies Program at WU/TIUA are invited to join staff from WU/TIUA/TIU.  Details of the party are as follows:

Venue: Mango Tree Cafe Lumine Ikebukuro 9F   --   Authentic Thai Cusine Buffet
1-11-1 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo
URL:http://r.gnavi.co.jp/ga4n721/lang/en/
Tel: 81-(0)3-5954-8106

Date: June 15th, 2013

Time:  4:45pm (Start of reception)                                       Cost: ￥5,000 (Alumni & Alumnae)
5:00~ 7:00pm (reunion)                                                         ￥3,000 (Students)

Pay at the door.  Children are able to attend -- Free for 12 yrs old and under

RSVP via Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/events/162673253896652/

If you need further information or have questions, please contact Barby Dressler at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Guests attending from TIUA will be:  Gunnar Gundersen, Executive Vice President; Masaki Shimada, Director, Campus Life & Academic Services; Barby Dressler, Director, University Relations/Special Programs; and Tomoko Harpster, Associate Director Campus Life & Academic Services.

Also attending will be Professor Linda Heuser (Sociology) and other WU visiting professors.

Hope you can join us!

Willamette University's Japan Studies Student Leaders' (JSSL) Annual Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates the coming of spring.  This year's festival took place on April 6, in the CAT Cavern, University Center building, on Willamette's campus.  The event was free and encouraged viewing of the cherry blossoms on campus and around Salem.  There was Japanese entertainment including Takohachi, a professional taiko drumming group from Portland, as well as the Willamette Taiko Club and JSSL Dance Team. There were food booths and activity booths with origami, face painting, and more!

Click here to see a photo gallery from the festival.

One hundred and thirty students were honored during the annual closing ceremony on Friday, December 14, 2012.  There was a certificate ceremony, as well as presenting some awards, in Hudson Hall on the Willamette University campus.  Afterwards, there was a reception party. The ceremony is the culmination of a year of intense study of English and American Studies courses taught by TIUA and Willamette University faculty members.

This class of students arrived for the American Studies Program at Willamette University in February, 2012. This program offers students the opportunity to take classes at TIUA and WIllamette University, as well as participating in various activities throughout the eleven months, such as volunteering with local charities, getting to know community members through the Tomodachi "friendship" Program, and interacting with Willamette University students as roommates and friends.

The theme of this year's closing festivities was "Step Up - The World is Calling You."  Anna Fukusawa, 2012 ASP student, won the theme contest in a vote by TIUA staff and faculty.

Attending the ceremony from Tokyo International University in Kawagoe, Japan, were President Tsugio Tajiri, Vice President Katsuya Endo, and Director Shunsuke Sekiguchi.  Other speakers included Consul General Hirofumi Murabayashi, from the Japanese Consulate in Portland, as well as President Stephen Thorsett and Dean David Douglass from Willamette University.  ASWU President Elizabeth Calixtro and Representative Shotaro Kumano also spoke on behalf of the students.  Salem community members who participated in the Tomodachi Program were also invited.

To see photos from the Closing Ceremony, click here.

To see photos from the Reception, click here.