Curtis, seen at the back of this photo, worked hard to act as a bridge between the U.S. and Japan through the U.S.-Japan parliamentary exchange program.

US-Japan parliamentary exchanges: Gerald Curtis (10)

Japanese and American politicians discover that they read from a similar political playbook

GERALD CURTIS

October 10, 2025 08:13 JST

The success of the U.S.-Japan parliamentary exchange program was made possible by a group of mostly young congressmen who wanted to learn more about the economic "miracle" taking place in Japan and were keenly aware of Japan's crucial position in Washington's national security strategy in East Asia. Many of them, including Thomas Foley, Donald Rumsfeld, Howard Baker, Walter Mondale, Norman Mineta and Spark Matsunaga, went on to have distinguished political careers. Foley, Baker and Mondale concluded their political careers as U.S. ambassadors to Japan. Rumsfeld is rumored to have wanted to become ambassador to Japan as well, but President George W. Bush had other plans and made him secretary of defense