Nov. 6 - One of our roles in Japan is to promote mutual understanding. We do this in a variety of ways. One of the most effective is the outreach work of our Information Resources Centers in Tokyo, Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka. These libraries are available to assist Japanese who have a professional-level interest in the United States. They will respond to inquiries about U.S. government policy, regional security, economics and trade, history, law, environment, culture, and society. Their customers include Japanese Diet members, government officials, journalists, and academic researchers - including students who are interested in the U.S. Their resources range from basic reference works to specialized government documents, American newspapers and periodicals, and electronic databases.

I very much like visiting our Centers to talk to our librarians. They learn a lot about Japanese attitudes towards my country, in the process of answering questions from their customers. For example, on a recent visit to Tokyo's Center, I heard that the top five topics of research requests they receive are:

• Security Issues:
  Could you send information on President Obama's vision for a world free of nuclear weapons?
  
  
• Economics:
  Could you send information on President Obama's Green New Deal?
  
  
• U.S. Politics:
  What is the Freedom of Information Act and how does it work when I access the National Archives?
  
  
• U.S. Society:
  What is the percentage of married women in the U.S. workforce and stay-at-home moms?
  
  
• Environment & Global Issues:
  What are the government initiatives for disease control, such as for H1N1, in the U.S?
  
  

If you are interested in making an appointment with the IRC, please review the procedures outlined here: http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/irc-main.html.

Until next time,

Jim