Describing her intensive, two-week high school exchange experience to Washington, DC as "life-changing," Itsuko has stayed connected to US-Japan relations since returning to Tokyo. She was recently invited to a forum for female students hosted by the First Lady of Japan Akie Abe to announce US-Japan cooperation in an international initiative for girls' education.

On November 14, 2014, the American and Japanese participants of the 2014 TOMODACHI US-Japan Youth Exchange Program gathered in Tokyo to present their experiences on the program. The American students from Washington, D.C.

This July, six Japanese students and an educator from Tokyo's Keio SFC High School traveled to Washington, D.C. for a two-week exchange, where they lived with host families, as part of the TOMODACHI US Japan Youth Exchange Program.

American Councils for International Education and the US-Japan Council today announced the launch of the TOMODACHI US-Japan Youth Exchange Program.