San Francisco Bay Area accounts for roughly 5% of U.S. GDP *1 . At the heart of the Bay Area sits Silicon Valley. True to its name, Silicon Valley first flourished in the 1950s as a hub of U.S. semiconductor production. Later, as internet companies began to emerge there in rapid succession through the 1980s, the region consolidated its status as the world’s leading technology epicenter. Yet the rise of the U.S. semiconductor industry that built Silicon Valley was not achieved

This time, we spoke with Nam Pham, a second-year master’s student in computer science at the University of Tokyo. Born and raised in Germany (and holding German nationality), Nam’s journey to Japan began with two years of Japanese language and culture study during his undergraduate years—followed by a direct connection to the University of Tokyo through his professors.   In this interview, Nam shares why he chose to pursue his master’s degree in Japan, what he’s researching i

This time, we spoke with Sharif Hassen, a junior at Yale University studying sociology with a concentration in economics. Born in New York City and raised in Abu Dhabi, Sharif’s path to Japan began not through anime or manga, but through music—Japanese marching bands and jazz fusion in particular. What started as self-study eventually led him to take Japanese lessons at the embassy in Abu Dhabi, continue Japanese through Yale, and spend a semester studying in Tokyo at ICU.  

Japan has, since ancient times, welcomed highly skilled foreign talent possessing advanced expertise and intellectual assets in fields such as technology, scholarship, the arts, religion, and architecture—and has put that knowledge and skill to work in nation-building. From antiquity beginning with the Asuka and Nara periods, through the Heian, Kamakura, Sengoku, Azuchi–Momoyama, and Edo periods, and onward into the modern era—from the Meiji Restoration through Taishō and Shō

This time, we spoke with Koichi Kimoto, a second-year undergraduate at Stanford University studying Aeronautics and Astronautics with a strong focus on space engineering. His passion for space began with a high school physics teacher who introduced him to model rockets—an experience that later led him to work on a CubeSat-sized satellite project and ultimately pursue astronautics in the U.S.   In this interview, Koichi shares why he chose Stanford over other top engineering s

When Mao Hotta was a junior at Keio University, she panicked. Everyone around her was deep into shukatsu—talking nonstop about recruitment exams, interviews, and company rankings. But Mao had just realized that her dream of becoming a journalist wasn't what she actually wanted. "I lost my dream, my purpose for shukatsu. I was kind of panicked." So she did something unconventional: she applied everywhere. ---You applied to almost every industry. Why? Mao: I thought to myself—