MoreIn 1909, the University of Washington opened its Department of Oriental Studies. One hundred years later, what is now the Japan Studies program in the Henry Jackson School of International Studies is receiving the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Award in recognition of its work in Seattle and worldwide.
The UW has been a pioneer in Japan studies and Japanese language education, and at a time when Japan studies programs nationwide are shrinking or giving way to a focus on China, the UW program remains strong. Japanese is the second most popular language on campus, after Spanish, and about a thousand students enroll in other Japan-related classes every year.
