This project contributes to an understanding of US-Japan relations through one concrete example of relations between Japanese and Americans in a transnational setting. The study focuses on Japanese and American traders in the commodity and financial futures markets and their wider social networks, in two locations-Chicago and Tokyo. The project will examine 1) the differences in social organization and practices among Japanese firms and their Japanese and American employees in Chicago and Tokyo, 2) the diverse strategies of Japanese and American traders and their families for building networks of social relations in Chicago and Tokyo, 3) the impact of the experience of cross-cultural encounter on the subjects' conceptions of their goals, relationships, and personal and cultural identity, and 4) the impact of all of this on their views of US-Japan relations, and in particular, the harmonization of trading practices, regulations, and the globalization of markets.