Eighty-two Japanese International Leadership Seminar students visit the USA

Eighty-two Japanese participants in the Fourth International Leadership Seminar were welcomed to America at John F. Kennedy Airport on July 28th for a three-week visit sponsored by the American International Cultural Foundation. The participants, students from the top universities in Japan, had come to take part in an exciting schedule designed to stimulate the growth of those qualities essential to mature, constructive international leadership.

Under the theme of “New Ideas for Democracy and Christianity,” the participants had an opportunity to study universal principles of life and to share together many experiences, including highlights of America’s bicentennial program featuring visits to the sites of the important events in the birth and development of America.

The students visit the U.S. Capitol

The Seminar began on July 28th with sight-seeing in New York City and a welcoming dinner and reception in the evening. Barrytown International Training Center was the scene of the academic part of the Seminar, which began with an official opening ceremony. Mr. David S.C. Kim, director of the Training Center, addressed the students, representing Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the International Cultural Foundation. Mr. Ken Sudo presented the Divine Principle, in which he spoke deeply about the nature of God, the nature of man, and the meaning of history.

The students went to New York City for two days of sightseeing highlighted by visits to Columbia University and the United Nations. At Columbia University, Professor Hans Bielenstein, chairman of the East Asian Languages and Cultures Department, compared American universities and students with those of other countries, and spoke about his own experiences teaching at Columbia. At the United Nations, the students were given a guided tour and then were addressed by the minister from the permanent mission of Japan to the United Nations on current world affairs.

A trip to the Great Adventure amusement park and a stop at West Point Military Academy rounded out

their trip to New York. The students received a very deep impression of West Point, where they were able to observe a formation of cadets and a flag ceremony, complete with the firing of a cannon.

On returning to Barrytown, the students listened to some very thought-provoking lectures on the theory of Victory Over Communism, given by Mr. Takeshi Furuta.

Students and hosts relax with hot dogs at Plymouth, Massachusetts

Traveling to Boston, the students visited the State House, the Christian Science Monitor, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They were addressed by Professor Gen ltasaka of Yen Ching Institute at Harvard and by Professor Koichi Masubuchi at MIT, speaking about American life and the experiences of Japanese students in America.

The next series of lectures at Barrytown, given by Professor Kenji Nomura, was on Unification Thought and concerned itself with ethics and the theory of man. The students then left for Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. These cities were a source of enjoyment for everyone as they visited the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, Arlington National Cemetery, Mount Vernon, the Capitol, the Smithsonian Institution, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. In Washington, the students were hosted by the Freedom Leadership Foundation at a reception-dinner. Neil A. Salonen, president of FLF, and Dan Fefferman, secretary-general, spoke on the significance of the International Leadership Seminar. Reed Irvine, director of Accuracy in Media, was a guest speaker.

Japanese students visit Liberty Bell in Philadelphia

Returning to Barrytown, the students received a review of the Unification philosophy presented by Mr. Koryo Ota and settled in to deepening their relationships with the American staff, which had become very

close through sharing many wonderful experiences together.

To give the students an opportunity to experience the environment of an American home, families in the surrounding towns of Red Hook and Kingston were contacted and asked if they would like to invite two students for one evening. The response to this was very good. Some families drove to Barrytown to pick up their student guests and other students were driven to their hosts by the ILS staff. All of the students who visited area families had a very enjoyable evening.

On August 20, the students again went to New York City for a farewell party and evening of entertainment. Certificates of completion were presented to the students.

By the end of the 21 days, which came all too soon, we had again experienced that the heart speaks a common language, no matter who you are. We had shared many things together and it was with regret that we said sayonara to our friends at Kennedy Airport.

All of us believe that universal peace and understanding can and will be brought about by those leaders who can transcend their own national, religious, and cultural barriers. We hope the Seminar contributed to this goal.