The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan has a program that annually accepts 60 qualified Japanese university graduates. The Ministry in Tokyo employs the accepted individuals for a minimum of one year. Upon acceptance, they are assigned a language of focus and must apply to colleges, universities or language institutions in a country where that language is predominant. The program instructs them to apply abroad as third-year or transfer students.
Before studying abroad, they attend a program at the Ministry Training Center, which lasts three months and provides in-depth language instruction, preparation for the time abroad and lessons in Japanese cultural activities such as tea ceremony and ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement). After this intense process, the program participants embark on their study abroad journeys.
When Maehira joined the Ministry, he became a Foreign Ministry Officer and was initially assigned to the Anti-Terrorism Division. "Technically speaking, the division deals with people who have suffered from terrorist attacks as well as the prevention and mitigation of additional attacks," Maehira explained.
Maehira's duties in the division involved monitoring the globe for terrorist attacks in order to issue warnings to Japanese tourists to avoid dangerous regions of the world. Moreover, these alerts engendered general awareness of terrorist levels throughout the globe. Maehira described his role in the process and the procedure involved. "There's a contract between the Ministry and the information service called Radio Press, so they collect the information, and as soon as a terrorist attack happens, I'd get a phone call," he said. Maehira was often privy to knowledge prior to its release to the media.
The largest attack with which Maehira dealt was a terrorist attack in Israel. Upon receiving the call, protocol dictated that Maehira immediately telephone his superiors. Subsequently, the Japanese Embassy in Israel was called to determine whether a Japanese citizen had been harmed in the attack. In this case and throughout his time at the Ministry, Maehira was pleased to report that no Japanese citizens had been harmed.
Although Maehira occupied a lower level position in the department, he was invited to sit in on the division's weekly meetings that gave him access to much sensitive information. He was also responsible for organizing a "terrorist drill," or establishing the modus operandi in the case of an attack. Maehira explained, "Suppose an attack happens ... officials in Tokyo who work on the terrorist attack-stricken areas and on the protection of Japanese citizens abroad assemble in an operation room."
After a six-month stint in the Anti-Terrorism Division, Maehira was assigned to the Fishery Division. Japan is a country that hunts whales for scientific study and, consequently, Japan is a member of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Whale hunting is a major issue in Japan, as it must undergo arbitration with nearby countries like New Zealand, Australia and the United States as well as some European nations, which are opposed to whaling.
Maehira explained that Japan does not permit the wanton hunting of whales, but that whale hunting is strictly monitored; Japan prohibits the hunting of species that appear to be nearing extinction. "Japan distinguishes between the species decreasing and increasing," he said. "Survey hunting for the scientific purpose is allowed in the international treaty per IWC Article VIII, and we don't hunt endangered species."
"The whaling issue is extremely controversial," Maehira added. "Those opposed to whale hunting try to ban everything. ... They lump all species together-increasing and decreasing. And to kill whales is cruel to them because whales are of mammal species, like humans."
The other major issue that concerns the Fishery Division is tuna fishing. Maehira described the negotiations over tuna fishing as less contentious. "It's more cooperative among participant countries," he said. "We divide the oceans, ... and divisions monitor whether there is any illegal, unreported or unregistered tuna fishing boats. ... But it's hard to catch all illegal boats. Each government's boats under the cooperation with the monitoring international organizations run after them, and they just run away."
During his time in the Fishery Division, Maehira kept an eye on political developments pertaining to fishery matters and was responsible for revising and updating a major report containing recent trends of the fishery. Maehira also organized a symposium for former fishery administrators, scholars and officials. The objective for the symposium was to discuss sustainable development-keeping fisheries producing while also maintaining an ecological balance. "To this end, Japan collects information on fishery resources including whale and tuna," he added.
Maehira found his work in the Ministry thrilling. "It was really new to work in the real world," he said. "Everything I came to know was exciting for me." Nevertheless, he was looking forward to his first time abroad.
When Maehira applied to the Ministry's program, he knew that he wanted to come to the United States. "I wanted to improve my English," he said. "The U.S. is a strong nation and the most important country for Japan, not to mention the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, and I want to know what it stands for."
Maehira graduated from Hokkaido University in 2002 and majored in Japanese law with a concentration in constitutional law. He will graduate from Amherst in May with a history major and will begin working for the Japanese Embassy at Pretoria, South Africa, in July.