The Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies

Established in 1984, with the explicit support of the Reischauer family, the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies actively supports the research and study of transpacific and intra-Asian relations, to advance mutual understanding between Northeast Asia and the United States. The first Japanese-born and Japanese-speaking U.S. Ambassador to Japan (1961-1966), Edwin O. Reischauer started his career teaching at Harvard University and eventually became the director of Harvards Yenching Institute. He helped pave the way to bringing East Asian studies to American schools. In 1961, President Kennedy chose Edwin O. Reischauer to be the American ambassador to Japan. With a strictly academic background, Reischauer was an unusual choice for the position. However, he embraced the ambassadorship and sought to strengthen the alliance between the United States and Japan. Following his stint at the embassy in Tokyo, Reischau...