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U.S. embassy in Japan to fund English scholarships for Okinawa Pref. high schoolers

Pool photo / AP
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, right, speaks Sunday at a ceremony in Tokyo marking the 50th anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to Japan.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:01 JST, May 16, 2022

The U.S. mission in Japan is to fund a two-year English scholarship program for high school students in Okinawa Prefecture, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel announced Sunday.

The ambassador made the announcement during a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to Japan after 27 years of U.S. rule. The program will be established by the end of the year.

“In the ensuing years, our friendship and our alliance grew stronger, thanks to the contributions of the people of Okinawa,” Emanuel said, as part of a speech delivered in Tokyo.

The ambassador also touched upon a trip to Okinawa last month, where he met with high school students planning to study in the United States. “Interacting with those students demonstrated to me the [Japan-U.S.] alliance isn’t about a treaty alone, but a friendship between people,” he said.