Shorewood teacher awarded fellowship to travel to Japan to learn about their economic system

Damon Oliveto

Shorewood High School teacher Damon Oliveto has been awarded a 2025 Keizai Koho Center Teacher Fellowship to travel and study in Japan from late June to early July this summer. 

Fellows will have the opportunity to learn about the Japanese economy, various businesses, and contemporary Japanese society, as well as participate in roundtable discussions with educators and business leaders during an eight-day stay in Japan.

Highlights of the fellowship include visits to Japanese schools, major companies, and industrial facilities. 

In addition, home stay and sightseeing excursions are planned to allow the fellows to learn about Japanese culture and society.

Damon, who teaches marketing and business at Shorewood, leads the school's CTE program, and serves as DECA advisor, says, 

"I applied to this program because of the unique opportunity to learn about aspects of the Japanese economy firsthand. In the macroeconomic portion of my AP Economics class, we compare and contrast different economic policies and outcomes between different economies.

"For example, The Bank of Japan has had a vastly different monetary policy approach than that of the FED’s; and while simply looking at numbers and data can tell a part of the story, learning directly from business and government leaders rather than just material from a textbook can make my curriculum more engaging and meaningful for my students."

The Keizai Koho Center (KKC) is an independent, nonprofit organization affiliated with Keidanren (Japan Business Federation). Established in 1978, Keizai Koho Center has served as a platform for the Japanese business community to interact with key stakeholders inside and outside of Japan.