Languages: Japanese (native), English (good) U.S. Travel: Six months at Congressional Research Service in Washington, DC in 1990-91, on National Diet-U.S. Congress staff exchange. Other Travel: Short trips for international conferences to Canada, Chile, Hungary, Italy, People's Republic of China, Poland and Sweden. Program Objectives: During Mr. Furukawa's study tour of the United States, the Department of State has outline the following goals: To understand how professional staff support the work of the U.S. Congress and State legislatures, with a view to introducing 'best practices' into the Japanese Upper House; To gain an overview of the complex legislative process in the U.S. and the roles of various non-governmental actors in affecting policy decisions, in order to enhance his abilities to make the Japanese system more transparent and responsive to the citizenry; To explore the state of telecommunications regulation and trade policy as well as government policies and private initiatives aimed at enhancing America's 'intellectual capital' to compete in the globalized economy, thereby helping him in a future assignment as staff director of the Upper House Committee on Telecommunications, Transportation, and Intellectual Capital; and, To provide opportunities to discuss U.S.-Japan relations, particularly in the security and trade areas, and expand his contacts among U.S. experts, with a view to promoting future exchanges with the Upper House.