Ray Matsumoto is an upcoming PhD student in history at UCLA, having recently obtained his master’s degree in history from Washington State University. His research is focused on Japanese war responsibility, collective memory, and the legacy of colonialism in relation to East Asian international relations. He was born and raised in Japan while attending international schools and moved to the US to attend St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD, for his B.A. in Philosophy. Ray aspires to pursue a career that bridges academia with the foreign policy sector.