On July 13, Ryan Bedford, Director of the Agricultural Trade Office at the U.S. Embassy in Japan, visited Meiji University’s School of Agriculture and gave a special lecture on agricultural trade between Japan and the United States. The lecture was held as part of the America 250 School Speaker Program[A2.1], an initiative commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Under the program, diplomats from the U.S. Embassy visit schools across Japan to introduce students to American history and culture.
Bedford was invited to speak in the Food Trade Theory course taught by Professor SAKUYAMA Takumi of the School of Agriculture, who was involved in numerous trade negotiations at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and attended official meetings, including those between the Japanese and U.S. agriculture ministers. Approximately 160 students attended the lecture. Bedford joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2012 and took up his post at the U.S. Embassy in Japan in September 2025. During the lecture, he explained the history of the founding of the United States, including the Declaration of Independence. He also provided detailed explanations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s organizational structure at the U.S. Embassy in Japan and the current state of agricultural trade between Japan and the United States.
After the lecture, students asked many questions about U.S. agriculture and agricultural trade between Japan and the United States, leading to a lively question-and-answer session. At the end of the event, Professor SAKUYAMA presented Bedford with an original commemorative gift from Meiji University, and the special lecture concluded on a high note.