The Kansai American Center (KAC) is the public affairs office of the American Consulate General Osaka-Kobe. As part of the "Public Diplomacy" arm of the U.S. Department of State, the Kansai American Center serves over 14 prefectures in western Japan, one-fifth of the total population of the country. This area includes the central part of Honshu, ranging from Shiga Prefecture in the east to Hiroshima in the west, plus four prefectures in Shikoku. At present, there are three American Centers besides Osaka(Kansai) located throughout Japan- Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sapporo.

The Kansai American Center promotes U.S.-Japan friendship and mutual understanding through various activities like speaker programs and cultural exchanges. KAC invites experts from the United States to conduct open exchanges of views on issues of common interest for both countries. Speaker programs and other information activities are held in such fields as American politics, economics and trade, society, culture, and the environment, as well as U.S.-Japan relations, international relations, U.S. foreign policy, security, and American Studies. KAC also conducts a wide variety of activities to provide up-to-date and accurate information about the United States to experts in local government, political, business, academic, and mass media organizations not only in Osaka but also in the entire Kansai and Chugoku-Shikoku region as well.

As part of our information outreach, we offer select programs (seminars, speaker programs, and discussion meetings) to the general public. Please consult this homepage for notices about these programs. In addition, the Kansai American Center Reference Service (KACRS) is prepared to handle inquiries from the general public regarding the United States, particularly in the fields of U.S. policies, U.S.-Japan relations, international relations, security, politics, economics, law, and social problems, among others. Please click on KACRS section of this site for more information.

Within the American Consulate General in Osaka, we work in conjunction with offices of the Consular Section, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in an effort to build better U.S.-Japan relations by accurately communicating information about the United States. For non-American citizens interested in visiting, studying, or residing in the U.S., please click on Visa information of the Consular Section. For information regarding U.S. government services for American citizens visiting or residing in the Kansai area, consult American Citizen Services.

For information regarding overall U.S.-Japan relations, or the countrywide activities of the U.S. Embassy in Japan, please visit the home pages of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo or Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Embassy. The PAS homepage is linked to various sites which provide information about other U.S. government agencies as well as research institutions. For example, visit the White House homepage, and you can see and even listen to speeches by the President.

The map shows the area around the Kansai American Center, American Consulate General Osaka-Kobe, and the location of the nearest station.