Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan ... - Bakumatsu Films

120 • JAPAN–AMERICAN TRADE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT
first international organization for promoting student exchanges. Based
on a joint exchange program begun with Aoyama Gakuin University in
Tokyo in 1934, the JASC has also become the oldest student-run exchange
program operating in the United States. In the early 1930s,
Japanese and American university students concerned about the deterioration
of U.S.–Japan relations following the 1931 Manchurian Incident
founded the JASC. Japanese students were worried that America
might become hostile toward Japan and were therefore interested in
founding a program that could encourage mutual trust between Japanese
and Americans. A principal JASC belief was that world peace
flowed from the Pacific Ocean while peace in the Pacific Ocean itself
depended on peaceful relations between Japan and the United States.
To achieve this goal, university students had to make some contribution.
JASC sought to facilitate exchanges of Japanese and American
university students with different backgrounds to encourage a mutual
flow of different opinions about issues affecting the Japan–U.S. relationship.
It was thought that discussions about common problems
could help young people from both countries achieve mutual understanding
and foster friendship and trust. The conference continues to
operate today and provides future leaders in both Japan and the United
States with opportunities to live together for about a month for the purpose
of deepening mutual understandings through engaging in small
group discussions, field trips, and public forums.
JAPAN–AMERICAN TRADE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT. The
Japan–American Trade Arbitration Agreement was concluded between
the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (JCAA) and the American
Arbitration Association (AAA). It took effect on 16 September
1952. The agreement created a process for deciding the geographic location
of arbitration proceedings (in the form of a joint arbitration commission)
in the event of a commercial or legal dispute between the U.S.
and Japan. Following the creation of this arbitration agreement with the
U.S., Japan proceeded to conclude a series of cooperation agreements
with Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) institutions in various
countries. As of September 2003, Japan had concluded arbitration
agreements with 43 ADR institutions. Nine of these agreements created
a joint arbitration commission method modeled on the commission
created with the AAA and the Inter-American Commercial Arbitration
Commission. See also U.S.–JAPAN TRADE CONFLICTS.