The Reischauer Institute supports Japanese studies at Harvard through a wide variety of academic projects and public programs. Academic initiatives range from humanities to social sciences, from early history to the present, and from research projects aimed to produce scholarly publications to more informal study groups of scholars. These projects are centered on faculty and students at Harvard and include Institute associates in research from the New England region and visiting scholars from Japan and other countries.

Public programs include the longstanding Japan Forum lecture series and many special events such as lectures, informal "brownbag" presentations, conferences, symposia, films and performances. A number of cultural programs each year are co-sponsored with the Japan Society of Boston and with other local institutions.