When I applied to the Joint Research Project through ALLIES last fall, I didn’t quite know what I was getting into. Over the next few months, through planning meetings with fellow JRP-ers at Tufts and the Naval Academy, and with help from the IGL, our trip and research plans slowly crystallized into form. By spring, we had flights and hotels booked, topics nearly set, and were already meeting with Japanese security experts around the Boston area. As we dove into article after article, poured over our Tokyo guidebooks, and emailed countless contacts in both Japan and the U.S. to try to fill our schedule, we convinced ourselves we were prepared.
