APSA-JPSA Exchange: Building Bridges from Boston to Matsuyama

Abstract

As they have done every fall but one since 1990,The 2001 APSA-JPSA exchange was cancelled due to the uncertainties of international travel in the wake of the September 11 tragedies. the American Political Science Association and the Japanese Political Science Association (JPSA) exchanged delegates to each other's respective annual meetings. As part of this exchange, William M. Downs (Georgia State University) attended the 2002 JPSA meeting. The conference took place October 5–6 in Matsuyama, the largest city on the southern island of Shikoku, on the campus of Ehime University. The international exchange committee of the JPSA served as an exemplary host for the event, with superb hospitality and arrangements provided by Hiroshi Hirano (Gakushuin University), Toshio Kamo (Osaka City University, President of JPSA), and Yoshiaki Kobayashi (Keio University). A representative of the Korean Political Science Association joined Downs as the conference's only international guests. Some 450 Japanese political scientists participated in the annual meeting, making it one of the best attended JPSA events ever.