From JET to Speaking the Language of Diplomacy
Andrew Ou (Gunma, 1995-1997)
Interviewed by Jin (Nagasaki, 2018-2021)
For many JETs, Japan is a memorable chapter in their lives—one filled with late-night konbini runs, local festivals, and just enough office formalities to make them fluent in the art of the polite nod. But for Andrew Ou, who is currently the U.S. Consul General in Okinawa, it was just the beginning of his career in diplomacy, though he didn’t quite know it at the time.
It was Ou’s freshman year at Georgetown that set everything in motion as he took up Japanese. His father, born and raised in Japan, had always been his connection to the culture, but it was his own experiences of studying abroad at Waseda that cemented his desire to return to the country. Thus, when the opportunity to join the JET Program arose, he didn’t hesitate.
Andrew at his yakuba desk in Kusatsu, Gunma during JET.
Unlike the many JETs who become ALTs, however, he found himself working as a CIR in the tourism and commerce section of the local town hall in Kusatsu, Gunma. An onsen and ski resort town with a population of a mere 8,000 in 1995 when he arrived, knee-deep snow was a seasonal reality, and the nearest fast food required an hour-long drive. It was hardly the expected training ground for a future diplomat, but fast forward three decades, and he’s now facilitating international cooperation and drawing upon skills he never realized he had gained in that quiet mountain town.
But if you’re expecting a neatly packaged success story where JET led directly to a career in diplomacy, this isn’t the story for you. No, Ou didn’t leave his two years on JET thinking he’d pursue a career in foreign service. In fact, he barely even knew it was a career option.
Looking back, his international exposure: high school in Africa, Model UN, and those years in Japan, made one thing clear. He liked working across cultures. The pieces only fell into place later when he realized that diplomacy was just an official way to do what he’d been doing all along.
As a CIR, tasks like obtaining hanko stamps on documents, writing stories for the town newsletter, and informally interpreting for the mayor seemed like the norm. It was only years later while working at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a U.S. exchange diplomat, that he found himself immersed in similar duties—except now, the paperwork was for state summits, the stakeholders were world leaders, and the language skills trained by answering the phone were now essential for high-level diplomacy.
So, What’s the Way into Diplomacy?
Andrew (front, center) exercising his diplomatic skills at an Eikaiwa Hike for town residents with neighboring JET friends as guest speakers/hikers.
For JETs interested in diplomacy, it’s easy to assume that career paths are limited to roles within the United Nations or foreign ministries. Ou once thought the same. It wasn’t until later that he realized diplomacy extends far beyond government positions.
Thus, for those interested in international relations, his biggest advice is to know your options.
The UN and central government foreign ministries aren’t the only way in. There’s diplomacy in business, education, media, sports, humanitarian aid, central government agencies other than the foreign ministry, and local governments. A company that helps Chinese students study in the U.S.? That’s diplomacy. Working with people from different countries for a sports event? Also diplomacy. Bilateral friendship associations or international divisions of cities and states? More diplomacy!
The key is to identify what genuinely interests you and find a way to contribute to international engagement through that lens. The traditional paths exist, of course: foreign service, trade policy, global development, and international organizations, but they are far from the only options.
A Reality Check: Diplomacy as a Lifestyle
That being said, if you’re actually thinking about becoming a diplomat, Ou stresses doing proper research. International relations is not just a career move—it’s a lifestyle. Every few years, you’ll be uprooting yourself (and possibly a family) and adapting to a new country. Soon, stability will become a luxury. If that sounds thrilling, great. If that sounds miserable, also great—you just saved yourself some trouble.
But whatever you do, don’t let society or even a Netflix show (as exciting and appealing as it is, Ou says) dictate what “counts” as a career in diplomacy. If you want to work internationally, figure out what you actually enjoy and then find a way to contribute through it.
Andrew still enjoying school visits 30 years post-JET, including this combined elementary-junior high school on Taketomi-jima, Okinawa.
Make the Most of JET
For those still on JET, his parting advice is simple: be fully present.
Don’t waste time wishing you were in a big city instead of a town where the biggest event of the year is a mascot parade. Press pause on fixating on your placement long enough to realize the rice paddies, the izakaya conversations, and the random encounters that are only a possibility because you’re living somewhere out of your comfort zone—that’s the stuff you’ll miss most. In fact, it’s those very experiences that will set you apart.
So, take it all in while you still can. One day, you’ll be far away from it all, thinking about how to ensure regional security in one the most consequential parts of Japan and the Indo-Pacific region, and you’ll suddenly remember the time you spent winters in Kusatsu, buying kerosene just to stay warm.
And you’ll realize that, somehow, it all mattered.
About Andrew Ou (Gunma, 1995-1997)
Andrew Ou assumed his current position as Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Okinawa, Japan on August 7, 2024, succeeding Matthew Dolbow.
Since joining the State Department in September 2001, Mr. Ou has served as a Consular Officer in Kingston, Jamaica and Hong Kong; South Korea Desk Officer at State Department headquarters; Diplomatic Exchange Fellow covering South Asia at the Japanese Foreign Ministry; Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan; Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu, China; Deputy Director of the Office of Taiwan Coordination in Washington DC; Assessor at the State Department’s Board of Examiners; Deputy Foreign Policy Advisor at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command; Bhutan Unit Chief at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India; and Political Unit Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore. He is the recipient of multiple individual and group State Department Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards, as well as the 2021 Robert D. Murphy Senior-Level Foreign Policy Advisor (POLAD) of the Year Award.
Mr. Ou was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea; attended secondary school in Pensacola, Florida and Nairobi, Kenya; and obtained his bachelor’s degree in international politics at Georgetown University. After working in the Japanese public service and education sectors for four years, he completed a master’s degree in East Asian history at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he was also an East-West Center Fellow. Mr. Ou speaks Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese. He lives in a multi-generational household with his mother and 9-year-old son.
The Senpai Spotlight series is brought to you through partnership between USJETAA and AJET’s CONNECT Magazine. The series features JET alumni from the US who have made successful careers for themselves in various fields—with the goal of inspiring young JETs and JET alumni to pursue their own dreams while also offering some words of advice only a senpai could know.
If you, or someone you know, would like to be featured as a Senpai Spotlight, please reach out to us at contact@usjetaa.org.
This edition of Senpai Spotlight was written by Jin, a graduate student and writer. Her love for Japanese literature took her beyond the pages and straight to the JET Program (Nagasaki, 2018-2021). There, she wrote for the Nagazasshi, a JET-run magazine. These days, she’s a freelance writer and editor, still chasing great stories and crafting her own along the way.
