Misa Matsushima, 26, has become Japan’s first woman to qualify as an F-15 fighter jet pilot.
“My longtime dream has come true. I want to become a fully-fledged pilot, no different from men, as soon as possible”.
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
🇯🇵👩🏻
#Japan
In her speech,
@malala
made reference to the wonderful achievements of Chiaki Mukai, the first Japanese woman in space. It was an honour to have profiled Mukai san in
@womenofjapan
🇯🇵👩🏻
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Wonderful and warm speech by
@Malala
at the Opening Session of the
#W20
and
#WAW
conference. She delights the crowd with a story that she had mistaken wasabi for an avocado at last night’s dinner. It’s her first visit to Japan.
#Japan
Mana Hamada - a Japanese fashion model known for speaking openly about being an out lesbian/LGBT supporter - on the street in Shibuya this last weekend
Akiko Kitamura Suzuki is a freelance Japanese language teacher. Her students include engineers, designers, business people and academics looking to improve their language skills.
@akokitamura
is a mum of two young boys (8 and 5).
@akokitamura
Yukie Goto spent two years in Papua New Guinea with her husband who was volunteering and got to know local coffee farmers. She has opened two coffee shops and proudly uses coffee PNG. Yukie received official recognition from the Papua New Guinea Embassy in Japan.
Ari Fuji is the first women in Japan to become a captain of a major commercial airline. She graduated from
@rikkyouniv
and after working as a co-pilot at JAL Express (now
@JAL_Official_jp
), for 10 years, she become a captain in 2010. Terrific role model for all! 🇯🇵👩🏻✈️
Akiko Kitamura Suzuki is a freelance Japanese language teacher. Her students include engineers, designers, business people and academics looking to improve their language skills.
@akokitamura
is a mum of two young boys (8 and 5).
@akokitamura
Masako Wakamiya is 83 year old computer programmer. After retiring, she bought a laptop and learnt programming and started a chat group with some of her friends to try and help older people get used to computers.
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
#womenofjapan
🇯🇵👩🏻💻
Today we profile Melanie Brock,
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
founder and Melanie Brock Advisory, CEO. Melanie’s from Albany, WA, and has been in Japan for 27 years. At 17 she spent a year in Aomori as an exchange student, studied back in Oz and then returned with her 2 kids in 1995.
Marie Iida is well-known to many of us as
@MarieKondo
‘s amazing interpreter/translator. She has lived in both the US and Japan and joined an independent film production company in Tokyo after graduating from
@nyuniversity
in 2006. 🇯🇵👩🏻🇺🇸
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
#Japan
Eiko Kadono, Japanese author of children’s literature, was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen award this week. Kadono san has brought much joy to many – including my two sons! Her work was praised for its “inspirational female characters”. 🇯🇵👩🏻🎊
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Today we celebrate Ai Nakajima and Kristina Baumann. Ai and Kristina met in 2011 and were married in Germany last year. Yesterday, they applied to the City of Yokohama for a marriage license. In Japan, there are only 10 municipalities that recognise same-sex ‘partnerships’. 🇯🇵🇩🇪
Today we celebrate US Open Champion, Naomi Osaka’s mum, Tamaki Osaka. What a gutsy, inspirational woman and mother! Congratulations to you and your family! Thank you for bringing so much joy to Japan, at a time when it really needs it!
🇯🇵👩🏻🎾🎊㊗️
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
For 25 years, Mayuko Baba has been translating at
@reuters
- she uses a Braille display with screen-reading applications. Mayuko lost her sight when 4. At 15,she went to the US (first totally blind Japanese high school exchange student). Loves piano, composing haiku (E&J). 🇯🇵
Yumi Asada is ABC’s (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Tokyo producer and works as a producer, camera operator, editor and translator reporting Japan to Australia.
@yumi_asada
is celebrating her third year as a working mother and learning new things every day with her child.
Francesca Conaté is a travel agent and creates customised travel packages. She lived in Kanto for 13 years. Francesca was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She is finishing up her memoir about life in Japan. She mentors female expats working in Japan.
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Every now and then I’m in a taxi in Japan with a female driver. We have great conversations and I learn loads. I always ask if I might be able to profile them on
@womenofjapan
and most are reluctant. So today’s post is a celebration of all female taxi drivers in Japan. 🇯🇵👩🏻🚖
We have some amazing news to share. Sawako Naito won Tokushima City's mayoral election on Sunday! The 36-year-old progressive is the country's youngest woman mayor of a city in Japan. Congratulations.
@sawacom0327
#Japan
#womeninpolitics
🇯🇵👩🏻🎉
#womenofjapan
#diversity
Today we celebrate Setsuko Takamizawa who was selected as one of the BBC’s “100 women of influence” Setsuko is learning English so she can help guide tourists who will visit Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics. Setsuko is 90!!Go Setsuko.
@Grandma_English
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
🇯🇵
Today, we celebrate Japan’s first female bathhouse (sento) artist, Mizuki Tanaka. After majoring in art history at Meiji Gakuin, Mizuki took up an apprenticeship with artist Morio Nakajima. She went onto grad school + then worked at an art material company.
#womenofJapan
🇯🇵👩🏻♨️
Magdalena Osumi is a Japanologist with an MA in Japanese culture and linguistics. She came to Japan in 2005 from Poland as an exchange student & is now a reporter at the
@japantimes
where she covers predominantly Japan's social issues, Tokyo politics and other local affairs. 🇯🇵
Ryoko Fujioka is an Ainu woman and President of Sapporo Upopo group, a group that teaches Ainu dance and song. There are only 20,000 or so Ainu in Hokkaido now. Many were born in regional areas but like Ryoko, moved to Sapporo to escape discrimination
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
All young women have great potential. Be brave and break down gender bias and other barriers. My party will support you with policies to do this. Together with the next generation of young women, let’s creat new pathways.
#advice
@renho_sha
🇯🇵👩🏻
Gwen Robinson is editor-at-large of the Nikkei Asian Review
@NAR
& was a correspondent & editor with the FT for nearly 20 years. A Japanese-Australian, she was born in Tokyo, educated in Australia and has moved between Asia, Europe & the US throughout her professional life.
Today we celebrate the wonderful women known as ‘Yakult Ladies’ here in Japan. Approx. 37,000 women deliver ‘Yakult’ drinks and products to companies and homes all over Japan. They are highly regarded by customers for their commitment to theIr work. 🇯🇵👩🏻
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Yuko Otoku graduated from uni in Seattle and opened/managed several cafes. After 15 years, she returned to Kanazawa where she opened a coffee shop called ‘curio espresso & vintage design’. Her aim is to introduce Seattle coffee culture to the people in her hometown. 🇯🇵👩🏻🇺🇸☕️
Noriko Yamada is today’s
#womenoftohoku
profile. Yamada san is from Iitate village in Fukushima. She had her own business that sold ice cream, ramen and local specialties. Sadly, the 3.11 Fukushima nuclear disaster meant she had to shut it down.
#Japan
🇯🇵👩🏻
Mihoko Ishii is chief priest at Suwa Shrine in Nambu, Aomori Prefecture. She became a certified priest after her husband, who was the chief priest, passed away several years ago. Mihoko plays an important role and has strong support from the community. 🇯🇵👩🏻⛩🎍
#WomenofJapan
Tetsuko Kuroyanagi is an actor and
@UNICEF
goodwill ambassador. A Tokyo College of Music graduate, Tetsuko san studied performance at Mary Tarcai Studio in New York. Her TV talkshow called Tetsuko's Room has been broadcast for 44 consecutive years 🇯🇵👩🏻.
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Today I would like to celebrate all the women who sat the exams at the various Japanese medical colleges and universities, passed but because of their gender were rejected. We stand by you and your claim for compensation.
🇯🇵👩🏻
#womenofjapan
Yuri Kageyama is a journalist, poet and playwright. Born in Japan. Raised in Japan and the U.S. B.A. Cornell University. M.A. University of California Berkeley.
@yurikageyama
#Japan
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Photo credit: Kazuhiro Onuki. Yuri in the Fukushima no-go zone in 2014.
Born in Tokyo, Japanese-American
@YukariSakamoto
is the author of Food Sake Tokyo and is a guide to Tokyo's markets. As a working mother she loves that Japan is a safe country for children, especially that even elementary kids can walk to school by themselves. 🇯🇵👩🏻🇺🇸
In 2006, Rachel Nicholson came to Hiroshima as a translator before pursuing her passion for baking and co-opening a small diner. In 2017, she returned to her writing roots and today she spends her days as a bilingual writer, translator, TV talent, and full-time food snob. 🇯🇵🇺🇸
Our first profile to mark
#womenoftohoku
, is Mutsuko Ozawa. Ozawa-san was born and lives In Iwate prefecture. She and her husband breed wagyu. The Ozawa family suffered great losses during 3.11, both personal and property. Ozawa san is truly a remarkable person.
#Tohoku
#東北 🇯🇵
Kaoru Kimura is an astronomy educator at the Japan Science Foundation. Kaoru is President-Elect for the International Planetarium Society, the first person from Asia to be appointed to this role. Kaoru has been working at the Japan Science Museum since 2004.
#womeninSTEM
🇯🇵👩🏻
Miyako Takebe spent the first 10 years of her career as a financial journalist & the next 10 years in financial PR. Miyako opened "bar miyako" in Akasaka last year and runs the bars and mixes drinks herself and celebrated her first anniversary in August.
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Today we celebrate
@renho_sha
Deputy Leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan
@CDP2017
Renho is an Upper House member of the Japanese Diet. First elected in 2004, her key policies support women and children and better visibility of public finances. 🇯🇵
#womenofjapan
Yuki Chizui manages Nadeshiko Sushi, home of the world's first female sushi chef. Nadeshiko Sushi is committed to its role supporting female sushi chefs. Yuki has been working at Nadeshico Sushi since it opened eight years ago after graduating from art school. 🇯🇵👩🏻🍣
What an image. Female members of the Opposition parties in the Japanese Diet wear white to protest against former PM & Tokyo Olympics Chief Mori sexist remarks against women. #野党
#JapanPolitics
⚪
(Asahi & Sankei photos)
Nobuyo Otagaki is a Shinto priest at Amagaseki Ebisu Shrine in Hyogo. She succeeded her father as the chief priest in 2012. She was a flight attendant for 6 years before studying Shintoism and doing all the necessary training and study to serve as a Shinto priest.
#womenofjapan
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Amazing women galore (April 16-30). Thanks for being part of this and これからもよろしくお願いします。
Please encourage all those incredible Japanese women you know to send through their profile!
Yuki Okoda is an astronomer in the graduate program in the Department of Physics at the University of Tokyo. Yuki was the first person to discover a new star that could shed light on the origins of our solar system.
#WomeninSTEM
#STEM
🇯🇵👩🏻
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Rumiko Takahashi is a Japanese manga artist originally from Niigata. Rumiko is one of Japan’s most influential and highly regarded manga artists. Her works are popular worldwide and have been translated into many languages. 🇯🇵👩🏻
#womenofjapan
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
My host mum, Dr Yaeko Kaneta, is an amazing person and trailblazer. She has had an incredible career as a doctor in Aomori, is a wonderful grandmother and mother, a role model for many and my absolute hero!
#Tohoku
#womenoftohoku
#Japan
#womenofjapan
🇯🇵❤️👩🏻
Today we celebrate Aoi Kodama. Like every other professional keirin rider, Aoi spent a year at the Japan Keirin School near Mount Fuji where she lived a spartan lifestyle in a dorm with other female trainees studying keirin rules and history and training hard!
#cycling
🇯🇵👩🏻
.
@ArishaInTokyo
majored in Japanese & moved to Tokyo in '09 with an interest in cross-cultural work. She now hosts an English teaching YouTube channel, edits for UTokyo, & writes for
@MetropolisTokyo
In 2018, she launched a video project featuring creatives working globally. 🇯🇵
Naoko Takahashi is from Gifu. She is widely known for her amazing performance at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, when she won the gold medal in the women's marathon. Naoko, known affectionately as Q-chan, is a TV sports commentator and supporter of athletics.
#womenofjapan
🇯🇵👩🏻
Today we celebrate Sachiko Ishikawa, half-Japanese and half-German but was raised in Barcelona, Spain. She is a feminist, a fiction writer and a translator. Sachiko currently lives in Tokyo. 🇯🇵🇪🇸🇩🇪
#womenofjapan
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
本日は”Celebrating Women in Japan”の創設者、(株)Melanie Brock AdvisoryのCEOのメラニー・ブロックです。西オーストラリア出身で27年日本に住んでいます。17歳の時、青森県八戸市に交換留学生として1年を過ごし、その後、豪州の大学で同時通訳の資格を取って子どもを連れて再来日。
#WomenofJapan
Chef Yuki Chizui is Japan’s first female sushi chef. There are very few female “itamae” (sushi chefs) in Japan and Yuki is working to empower young women to pursue careers in this traditionally male field. 🍣
.
@annafifield
always wanted to be a journalist, foreign correspondent in particular. In NZ it was the high school paper...then she studied journalism at uni. From NZ to the FT in London, Seoul, Tehran, Beirut + DC. In 2014 Anna joined the
@washingtonpost
as Tokyo bureau chief.
Sadako Ogata was Japan’s first female Ambassador to the UN (1976), then became UN High Commissioner for Refugees, a position she held for 10 years. In 2003 she was appointed Chair of JICA. Ogata san is one of Japan’s earliest working mothers. 🇯🇵👩🏻
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Asako Onoyama is Chief Concierge at the InterContinental Osaka . She is a member of Lest Clefs d’Or, an int'l hotel concierges org'n. Asako started her career at the Kyoto Station Information Center at Kyoto Station. During uni, Asako studied English and then Spanish! 🇯🇵👩🏻
Delighted to celebrate
@Naomi_Osaka_
today.
Naomi is the first Japanese woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final in the
@usopen
after defeating her opponent in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 in just 57 mins. We’re all behind you Naomi! 🇯🇵👩🏻🎾
#woohoo
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Aori Nishimura won the women's title yesterday in the final stage of the 2018 World Skate Street League Skateboarding Tour. At 17, Aori is the youngest competitor in the women's Super Crown comp. Congratulations Aori san!
🇯🇵👩🏻🛹🎊
#WomeninSport
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Eriko Hirano was born in Otsuchicho, Iwate and plays rugby for Japan. She first started playing rugby when she was 6. Eriko is on a six-month exchange at Warringah Rugby Club in Manly. She’s back in her hometown this weekend to celebrate the opening of the new stadium.
#Sakura15s
Helen Clark was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008. She was the Administrator of the United Nations Development Program from 2009 until last year and calls Auckland home.
Hirose Junko was born in
Yamaguchi. She started jūdō when she was in primary school and changed to visually impaired judo when she suffered loss of vision due to adult-onset Still’s disease. Junko won a bronze medal in the 57-kg division at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. 🇯🇵👩🏻
Yuko Nakao left Japan when she was 18 for Australia returning to Japan after uni. She worked at Tourism Australia before going back to work in Oz at the Sydney Olympics. Yuko has restored her childhood home in Hiroshima and it’s now open for guests! 🇯🇵👩🏻
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Today, we celebrate Mamiko Masumura, an urushi (lacquerware) artist. Before Mamiko, her father and grandfather were lacquerware artists. She graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, works as a research assistant and at the same time creates art at her studio.
#womenofjapan
Saori Yoshida is a freestyle champion wrestler from Mie prefecture. She first started wrestling at the age of 3 and announced her retirement yesterday. From 1998 she won almost every major competition including 3 Olympic Games, 4 Asian Games, and 13 world championships. 🇯🇵👩🏻🥇🥈
Loved the recent article in
@The_Japan_News
about a young female sumo wrestler from Aomori so we celebrate her today. Rio Hasegawa (15) started sumo when she was in primary school. In July, Rio won the bronze medal in the Junior Women Sumo Championship in Taiwan.
#womenofjapan
Congratulations Ueno san on receiving recognition from Finland of your hard work in pioneering gender diversity and equality in Japan. Finland's 1st female president, Tarja Halonen, presented the award at the Finnish Embassy in Tokyo.
#womenofjapan
🇯🇵👩🏻🇫🇮
Stephanie Crohin came to 🇯🇵 in 2005 from 🇫🇷and soon fell in love with Japan’s bathing culture and is now a specialist, an author about osento. Her 2nd book on Japanese baths will be published in July.
@_Alicedelice_
has been an official osento ambassador for some years now.
Shiho Nakata owns and manages Yakimochi, a small eatery in Tokyo. After graduating from Tokyo University, she joined Nippon TV to pursue her dream to become a director of drama series. She directed "Shoten", a comedy TV program at age 34. 🇯🇵👩🏻
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
It’s an absolute honour to introduce you to our very first profile in the
#celebratingwomeninjapan
series! Dr Yaeko Kaneta was my host mum when I came to Japan in 1982. A gutsy, smart and really kind person - a role model for many - a mother, grandmother, doctor and influencer
Carolin Funck came to Japan 30 years ago from Germany as an exchange student. Fluent in English & Japanese, she now heads Hiroshima Uni Dept for Integrated Global Studies where she teaches Tourism & Geography. She is an Aikido expert, now at 6th Dan & co-runs a small Dojo. 🇯🇵🇩🇪
Marika Katanuma is a Tokyo based Digital News Editor at
@BloombergJapan
+ formerly worked for Yahoo! Japan. Besides her career as a journalist, she competed as a junior figure skater at the regional + national level. She holds degrees from Emory & Henry College.
@MarikaKatanuma
Chisato Tsumori was born in Saitama, graduated from Bunka Fashion College then started working with Issey Miyake in 1977 before creating her own line in 1990. Tsumori has a large following o/s and in Japan. Today she lives in Paris, but still draws inspiration from Japan. 🇯🇵👩🏻🇫🇷
Shiori Kase is Principal dancer with the English National Ballet. She is from Tokyo and first started ballet at 3. Shiori studied at the Hirose Kato Ballet School, joined the
@EMBallet
in 2009. Shiori says her favourite ballet is Manon. 🇯🇵👩🏻🇬🇧
#London
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Mutsuko Ozawa lives In Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, where she was born. She and her husband breed wagyu cattle. Ozawa san suffered great losses in 3.11 (both personal and property) but she says that the support she has been given since gives her great strength.
#Tohoku
🇯🇵
Ms. Omi was born in Tokyo and works at “Senriken” a well-known coffee shop in Tsukiji. When asked how long she had been working for the coffee shop she smiled and said ‘a very long time’. This coffee shop was established over 100 years ago. It sells very good katsu-sando.🇯🇵👩🏻
Originally from Wales, Eleanor Goldsmith went to Niigata Prefecture as a JET CIR and stayed, spending 8.5 years there. After moving to NZ in 2006,
@zaichishka
set up her own translation business. In her free time, Eleanor teaches and studies tea ceremony (Urasenke).
#Japan
Eiko Suzuki has been teaching Ikebana for almost 40 years. She received a Ph.D in Aesthetics in the USA. Eiko concluded in her dissertation that the basic spirit of ikebana comes from the attitude of respect and affection of the ikebana arranger towards the plant materials. 🇯🇵
Sue Plumb Takamoto & family moved from the US to Ishinomaki after 3.11. Working with the 'Be One' team, Sue started & led the
@NozomiProject
, an all female social enterprise making beautiful jewelry from broken pottery - creating 'beauty from brokenness'.
#womenofjapan
🇯🇵🇺🇸
Born in Hokkaido, Rie Takeda now lives in Germany. Since 2001, inspiration for new forms of art & traditional Japanese craftsmanship led Rie to discover Neo-Japonism style while in London. A calligraphy teacher, Rie has worked on several projects & exhibitions in Europe & the UK.
Know that the daily feedback and conversations are actually more important than the number of followers but still a tad excited that
@womenofjapan
now has more than 3000 followers. Thanks for following along everyone. 🇯🇵👩🏻
#womenofjapan
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Miho Imada was born in Akitsu village in Hiroshima. She spent 10 years in Tokyo but returned to her hometown and joined the family business, Imada Sake Brewery, where she is the CEO and chief sake brewmaster. Their award-winning brand is Fukucho.
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
🇯🇵👩🏻🍶
Andrea J.Kitahara came to Japan in 1983 on a container ship from Melbourne, settling in rural Ina Nagano, where she’s lived for 30+ yrs. Andrea is a translator, interpreter & educator, raised her two bilingual kids. Teaches comms at uni while translating children's literature.🇯🇵
Nuala Connolly is Chief of Staff at AIG Japan Holdings. She first came to Japan in the 80s as a student & began a career in and around Japan that has largely been finance related.
@nuala_connolly
has long been a driving force in the Association for Women in Finance.🇯🇵🇬🇧🇮🇪
#Japan
Discrimination like this is unacceptable. I hear many stories of women suffering in the workplace from maternity harassment. Business leaders need to do more to prevent it & work harder to create a better culture. Time to celebrate women in Japan not punish them. 🇯🇵👩🏻 #マタハラ
“I told our CEO I was pregnant. He suggested cutting my pay & ‘dealing’ w/ me within legal limits. A pregnancy pay cut’s illegal....They made me a dept head but I feel they’re telling me I’m useless. It’s been months. I’ve hit my limit. I want to cry.” #女声を聞け
#HerVoiceJP
Today we celebrate Yumi Tanabe, CEO of Wine&Wine Culture. Yumi grew up in a winery family in Hokkaido. After graduating from Tsuda University with a maths degree, Yumi went to the US to study hotel management and wine at Cornell School of Administration.
#CelebratingWomeninJapan
Kiyoko Ozeki is Professor Emeritus at Tokai Gakuen Women’s Junior College. She attended dressmaking school when 16, at the end of WW2 and then worked as a banker. After that she opened her own handicraft school and began holding exhibitions featuring her work.
#womenofjapan
🇯🇵👩🏻