Bios

Motoatsu Sakurai

President

Motoatsu Sakurai became president of Japan Society on April 7, 2009. Mr. Sakurai served as Ambassador and Consul General of Japan in New York from March 2006 through March 2009, after a successful 40-year career in the private sector, and was the first business executive to serve as Ambassador and Consul General.

After graduating from Tokyo University Faculty of Law in 1968, Mr. Sakurai entered Mitsubishi Corporation (MC). During the course of his early work at MC, he received an MBA from INSEAD, Fontainbleau, France in May 1976. In 1978, Mr. Sakurai served as a Loan Officer with the World Bank and as an Investment Officer at the International Finance Corporation in Washington D.C. In the mid- to late-1980s, Mr. Sakurai served in several senior managerial capacities for Mitsubishi International Corporation (MIC) in New York and Washington, D.C. In 1995, after returning to Tokyo, he was named General Manager of Corporate Planning and in 1998, General Manager for Regional Strategy and Coordination. By 2000, he rose to Executive Vice President. In April, 2003, he was named President and CEO of MIC. Simultaneously, he was named President, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in New York. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Partnership for New York City, the Corporate Leadership Committee of Carnegie Hall, and the Executive Committee of the Nippon Club. He served as member of Japan Society's Board of Directors from 2003 until his appointment as Ambassador, after which he became an Honorary Director.

Mr. Sakurai is married and lives in New York. He has two daughters who grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and now live and work in the United States.

Lisa Bermudez

Vice President of Finance & Administration

Bio to come.

Joe Earle

Vice President and Director, Japan Society Gallery

Appointed in September 2007, Joe Earle has worked for more than 30 years in the field of Asian and Japanese arts and cultures. A graduate of Oxford University, where he majored in Chinese language and literature, in 1974 he joined the newly-formed Far Eastern Department of London's Victoria and Albert Museum and began to specialize in Japanese art, curating exhibitions on contemporary lacquer, ceramics and design as well as serving as consultant to the Royal Academy's groundbreaking Great Japan Exhibition (1981-82).

On becoming head of the V&A's Far Eastern Department in 1983, Earle spearheaded the creation of the Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art and then, after three years as the V&A's Head of Public Services, embarked on a freelance career which stretched from 1990 until 2003. During that time he acted as coordinator for the Visions of Japan exhibition, centerpiece of the 1991 UK Japan Festival, and curated numerous shows in Europe, Japan and the United States, as well as writing catalogues for a wide variety of leading collectors, commercial galleries, auction houses and museums. In 2000 he began to work as consultant to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and in 2003 he was appointed first Chair of the MFA's Department of Art of Asia, Oceania and Africa. Earle has authored, translated or edited more than a dozen books and catalogues on Japanese art topics ranging from early medieval garden design through the export crafts of the Meiji era to contemporary art and design.

Robert A. Fish

Director of Education & Lecture Programs

Robert Fish joined Japan Society in May 2006 as Director of Education and Lecture Programs. Fish previously served as an Assistant Professor of East Asian history at Indiana State University, where he worked extensively with pre-service teachers. His research focuses on the history of childhood and education in 20th-century Japan, and includes a book manuscript near completion about the history of “mixed-blood” orphans in postwar Japan as well as publications regarding the history “textbook controversy” in Japan.

Fish earned a BA in History at Yale University, MA in Educational Administration at New York University, and PhD in Japanese History at University of Hawaii at Manoa. Prior to specializing in Japanese studies, he taught social studies at Tenafly High School in New Jersey and English in Wakayama, Japan.

Janet Fu

Director of Program Operations

Janet Fu joined Japan Society in April 2006 as Director of Program Operations Fu directs the planning and management of program events at Japan Society. She previously worked in sales and marketing at the New York Palace Hotel, as well as in banquets at the Radisson Miyako Hotel Tokyo.

Fu received her BA in Biological Basis of Behavior from the University of Pennsylvania and her MMH from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Shannon Jowett

Director of Communications

Shannon oversees publicity and promotion at Japan Society. He works closely with the executive staff on Society-wide messaging and in tandem with Digital Media, Development and Publications departments on initiatives serving all programming. Managing an internal team and two niche publicity firms, Shannon steered the most successful PR campaign in the Society's 100+ year history, resulting in 18 articles in The New York Times in as many months and over 1400 archived press clips including major broadcast, print and online coverage.

Appointed Director of Communications in August 2006, Shannon has specialized in New York City cultural communications since 1999. He was an original associate at Spin Cycle, a downtown marketing boutique where he handled publicity, niche promotions and special events for a diverse roster of major corporations, popular artists and esteemed downtown venues. In 2003, Shannon joined The Zeisler Group, managing public relations for high-profile, international cultural clients including Japan Society.

Jane Fenton

Director of Human Resources

Jane Fenton is a human resources professional with considerable experience in all areas of human resources management and development. Prior to joining Japan Society, she served the U.S. Fund for UNICEF for seven years, where she was Deputy Director of Human Resources. In this role, Fenton developed and implemented strategic HR programs, policies and procedures, and led the staffing process. Before that, Fenton worked at Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield for 15 years in a series of progressively challenging positions, including Senior Staffing Advisor, Employee Relations Rep, and EEO Specialist. Her professional background also includes managerial positions at Manhattan Life Insurance Company, and Metro-North Commuter Railroad. Fenton earned a BS in Management and Communications, summa cum laude, at Adelphi University.

Ruri Kawashima

Tokyo Representative

Ruri Kawashima is the liaison between Japan Society's New York headquarters and its contacts in Japan. She develops, implements and raises funds for fellowships and exchange programs, which include policy dialogues on key issues important to the U.S.-Japan relationship, professional fellowships, and outreach programs that take place in cities throughout the U.S. and Japan.

Before joining Japan Society in 1973, Kawashima was an Editorial Assistant at the Tokyo bureau of Newsweek. She is a graduate of the University of the Sacred Heart in Tokyo and Western College for Women in Ohio.

Ann Niehoff

Director of Foundation and Government Relations

Ann Niehoff oversees foundation and government fundraising in concert with senior administrative and program staff. She joined Japan Society in November 1986. Niehoff earned a BA with Honors in Art History from Smith College; she received her MA in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, where she completed the required course work and examinations for a PhD.

Daniel A. Rosenblum

Vice President, Corporate & Policy

Daniel Rosenblum became the Director of Corporate & Policy Programs in 1999 and Vice President in 2003. Before joining Japan Society, he worked as a financial journalist for 16 years, with assignments in Tokyo, Hong Kong, London and Washington, DC. Most recently he was a producer for Reuters Financial Television in New York.

Rosenblum has traveled extensively throughout Asia. A graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio, he holds a BA in Japanese Language and Literature. He spent seven years in Tokyo as a child, where he attended the Nishimachi International School.

Reiko Sassa

Director of Toyota Language Center & C.V. Starr Library

Reiko Sassa joined Japan Society as Assistant Librarian in 1977. Soon after, she began cultivating the organization's modest language class offerings into a flourishing program. In 1982, Sassa was appointed Language Education Coordinator and Head Librarian and was featured in an article in The New York Times about Japanese women succeeding professionally in New York.

Sassa became Director of Toyota Language Center in 1986, when the center became an official Japan Society department. Over the past 24 years, she has maintained the library's exceptional collection of English and Japanese books. She holds a BA in Japanese Literature.

Yoko Shioya

Artistic Director

Yoko Shioya became Artistic Director in 2006, overseeing the Society's Performing Arts and Film Programs. Since joining the Society in 1997 and assuming the position of Director of Performing Arts in 2003, she has expanded collaborative projects with American cultural organizations and universities to introduce Japanese performing artists and also launched new initiatives, including an artists’ residency project and a workshop series.

Known in Japan as a writer/researcher on the public and private arts support systems in the U.S. and Japan, Shioya has been invited to speak at numerous symposia, lectures and TV programs presented by the Agency for Cultural Affairs of the Japanese government, Keidanren, the Academy of Cultural Economics and the Japan Council of Performers' Organizations, among others. In 1998, her first book, New York: How the City and Its Artists Coexist, was published by Maruzen Publishing Co. She has been a regular contributor to arts columns on performing arts and exhibitions for the Asahi newspaper, and has served as a committee member and selection panelist for numerous programs, including The Bessie Awards, Rolex Mentor and Protege International Program, and the Toyota Choreography Awards. Shioya holds BAs in musicology and dance history from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

Yoko Suzuki

Director of Special Events & Special Assistant to the President for Community Relations

Bio to come.