The 2025 JETAA USA National Conference (NatCon) was held from Friday, October 3rd, to Sunday, October 5th, in Washington, DC. JETAA delegates from the 19 U.S. chapters were joined by their three Country Representatives, and by the Country Reps for Canada, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago, and representatives from JETAA International. A number of other partner organizations in the US-Japan field also participated.
This year’s NatCon was hosted by the JET Alumni Association of Washington, DC and the Embassy of Japan in the USA. The conference theme was “Empowering Your Network: Planting the Seeds for the Next Generation of U.S.-Japan Voices.”
The Japanese Ambassador to the United States, the Honorable Shigeo Yamada, provided opening remarks to kick off the conference, followed by Executive Counsellor Kakeru Hada, from Japan Local Government Center / CLAIR, New York, and JETAADC Co-Presidents Okung Obang and Alex Melillo.
Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA (SPF) and US JET Alumni Association (USJETAA) sponsored the Keynote Fireside Chat, moderated by Shanti Shoji from SPF, speaking with Paige Cottingham-Streater and David Boling, two alumni with extensive experience working in the federal government in US-Japan relations. This year’s Keynote theme was “From People to Policy: How Grassroots Ties Strengthen the U.S.-Japan Alliance.”
During the conference, delegates connected and discussed ways to increase engagement in their respective chapters and sub-chapters in addition to exploring collaboration with other U.S.-Japan organizations like the National Association for Japan America Societies (NAJAS). Other session topics included linking the JET experience with promoting off-the-beaten-path tourism in regional Japan; solving challenging chapter dilemmas; strengthening relations between JETAA chapters and their local consulates or embassies, and also their area Japan America Societies; and providing insights for tying Japan to personal and professional activities post-JET. Other breakout sessions included recruitment and training of new JETAA chapter officers, creating and running Japanese language exchanges, and extinguishing burnout among chapter leadership.
This year also brought back individual JETAA chapter report presentations from all 19 U.S. chapters, as well as from JETAA Canada, JETAA Jamaica, and JETAA Trinidad & Tobago. A Lunch & Learn session led by USJETAA followed presentations from CLAIR and JETAA International.
The JETAA USA Chapter Council Session included highlights of JETAA USA activities and initiatives presented by Country Representatives Valerie Stewart, Vivian Chen, and Jennifer Sherman. The Matthew Gillam Award for Dedicated Service was presented to JETAA Northern California leader Arisa Takahashi for her many dedicated years of service and hard work supporting JETAANC and building up its capacity as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit JETAA chapter. A proposal for a new dispute resolution council was also introduced by members from the Dispute Resolution Process Committee.
It was a very full and informative conference, and we look forward to seeing how chapters are able to benefit from all the information and ideas that were shared over the course of the three days.
Matthew Gillam
Senior Researcher
October 15, 2025