About

Mission & History

Board of Directors

Staff

Financials

Careers

Privacy Policy

日本語

Visit

Location & Hours

Rent Our Space

Accessibility

Press

Press Center

Stay in Touch

Join Our Email List

Contact Us

Corporate

Become a Member

Make a Donation

Corporate Support

Foundations & Government

Planned Giving

Special Events

<div class="segment">
    <div class="block">
        <div class="tagline">Tea Time</div>
        <h1>Remembering 3.11 with Kikka Hanazawa</h1>
        <h5 class="date">March 2021</h5>
    </div>

    <div class="video-container">
        <iframe class="video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ukRAh3cbGxc" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    </div>
</div>

<div class="segment">
<p><em>Part of <a href="/watch-and-read/tea-time/">Tea Time at Japan Society</a></em> &amp; <a href="/arts-and-culture/ten-years-later-japan-society-remembers-3-11"><em>Ten Years Later: Japan Society Remembers 3.11</em></a> </p>
<p>As fashion industry entrepreneur Kikka Hanazawa watched the devastating 3.11 disasters on the news with colleagues in her New York office, she thought about what they could do to help. During a disaster, needs for medication, food and shelter are paramount, and donated clothing often ends up in landfill. So, for the first time outside their own professional organization, leaders in the fashion industry took action, holding a charity sale in New York City with in-kind donations from more than 60 designers, followed by events in London and Tokyo that collectively raised over $600,000 for Japan's disaster relief. "This kind of impact is much greater than what an individual can do alone," Kikka noted. Now an investor and philanthropist in fashion and technology, Kikka founded the award-winning nonprofit Fashion Girls for Humanity. During the pandemic, she and her colleagues have produced 20,000 donated PPE gowns for New York, also sharing patterns and technical information throughout the world by YouTube. "Great fashion definitely inspires people, even in a dark time. In the same way, architecture can be wonderful in post-earthquake reconstruction. There are ways to continue and celebrate the beauty of what we know, and we'll carry on and be stronger, even after this," Kikka declared. </p>

<p><strong>Kikka Hanazawa</strong><br />
             Investor ans Philanthropist<br />
            <br />
Kikka Hanazawa is an investor and philanthropist whose investments include the sustainable fashion brand VPL and other technology ventures in fashion. She founded the award-winning nonprofit Fashion Girls for Humanity, and has been making a social impact globally through her business and nonprofit ventures. Kikka's work has been featured in the <em>Wall Street Journal</em>, BBC, <em>Forbes</em>, <em>The New York Times</em>, <em>Vogue</em>, Reuters, Nikkei, WWD, Asahi, NHK and many other publications. She is the first Japanese woman to be selected for Forbes 48 Heroes of Philanthropy. Born in Tokyo, Kikka holds a BA from Columbia in Architecture Theory / Art History and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
           </p>

 <p>Japan Society's <em>Tea Time</em> Season #3 features reflections on the Great East Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster that struck Japan 10 years ago on March 11, 2011. <em>Tea Time</em> Season #3 is proudly supported by Tokio Marine Group and ITO EN (North America) INC. </p>

</div>

042021-VID-tea-time-khanazawa-1920-1080

Kikka Hanazawa

<div class="segment">
    <div class="block">
        <div class="tagline">Tea Time</div>
        <h1>Remembering 3.11 with Kanji Yamanouchi</h1>
        <h5 class="date">March 2021</h5>
    </div>

    <div class="video-container">
        <iframe class="video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WGrLLJ_faVk" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    </div>
</div>

<div class="segment">
<p><em>Part of <a href="/watch-and-read/tea-time/">Tea Time at Japan Society</a></em> &amp; <a href="/arts-and-culture/ten-years-later-japan-society-remembers-3-11"><em>Ten Years Later: Japan Society Remembers 3.11</em></a> </p>
<p>Ambassador Kanji Yamanouchi, Consul General of Japan in New York, was at the Japanese Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office as Executive Assistant to the Prime Minister at the time of the 3.11 triple disaster. He will never forget the support from the United States, starting with the telephone conversation that same evening between the Prime Minister and President Barack Obama. Operation Tomodachi&mdash;&quot;Operation Friend&quot;&mdash;is testimony to the strength of the U.S.-Japan alliance, not only in terms of the government and military forces, but also the friendship and support of the people including New Yorkers. In New York, in addition to Japan Society's Japan Earthquake Relief Fund which raised over $14 million, the Japanese American Association raised $1.4 million and the New York chapter of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program alumni mobilized to offer support. The Japanese Medical Society of America (JMSA) facilitated exchanges of medical facilities between New York and Japan, and JMSA continues to organize annual exchanges between 3.11 and 9.11 victims. The ambassador expressed his deep gratitude, &quot;to the New Yorkers who really helped us, not just materially, but also in the friendship of heart and mind, which is so precious. In the middle of difficulty it is easy to feel all the pain. But after a storm, we see rainbows.&quot; Ten years later, in midst of a global pandemic, these are lessons to be remembered. </p>

<p><strong>Kanji Yamanouchi</strong><br />
             Consul General of Japan in New York<br />
            <br />
Ambassador Kanji Yamanouchi, Consul General of Japan in New York, assumed his post in September 2018. He has served in a wide range of posts since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in 1984, including two assignments to the Japanese Embassy in the U.S.: First Secretary of the Political Section in 1997, and Minister for Economic Affairs in 2013. Most recently, he served as Assistant Minister/Director-General for the Economic Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters. One of his most challenging yet fulfilling assignments was as Executive Assistant to the Prime Minister in 2011, when he dedicated himself to actualizing the government response to the historic 3.11 triple disaster.
           </p>

 <p>Japan Society's <em>Tea Time</em> Season #3 features reflections on the Great East Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster that struck Japan 10 years ago on March 11, 2011. <em>Tea Time</em> Season #3 is proudly supported by Tokio Marine Group and ITO EN (North America) INC. </p>

</div>

042021-VID-tea-time-kyamanouchi-1920-1080

Kanji Yamaouchi

<div class="segment">
    <div class="block">
        <div class="tagline">Tea Time</div>
        <h1>Remembering 3.11 with Hiroshi Abe</h1>
        <h5 class="date">March 2021</h5>
    </div>

    <div class="video-container">
        <iframe class="video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3qfpczgntMs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    </div>
</div>

<div class="segment">
<p><em>Part of <a href="/watch-and-read/tea-time/">Tea Time at Japan Society</a></em> &amp; <a href="/arts-and-culture/ten-years-later-japan-society-remembers-3-11"><em>Ten Years Later: Japan Society Remembers 3.11</em></a> </p>
<p>Professor Hitoshi Abe, Chair of UCLA Architecture and Urban Design from 2007-17 and originally from Sendai in Japan, was at his home in Los Angeles on 3.11. Three days later, he was finally able to reach his brother to confirm that his family was safe. &quot;You can't just stay still&mdash;you have to do something. You are away from your home, you are not there, but you still feel pain&hellip;For the first couple of weeks, I couldn't really do much until I started to participate in Archi+Aid.&quot; A voluntary network of over 300 architects and university researchers in Japan, Archi+Aid assisted in Tohoku reconstruction efforts for five years (2011-15). The network also sought to nurture students of architecture through the reconstruction efforts.  One initiative, The Lost Homes Project, restored 58 lost towns in 1:500 scale models and showcased them through workshops and exhibitions, helping bring together former residents to relive their memories and thoughts on the future of their community. Despite some of the challenges Archi+Aid faced, Professor Abe identifies a key role that architects and Archi+Aid played in Tohoku&rsquo;s recovery: &quot;With disasters like 3.11, where people cannot feel or sense a positive future, architects can actually help, by working together with the people and community to think about a believable, hopeful future together.&quot; </p>

<p><strong>>Hitoshi Abe</strong><br />
             Principal of Atelier Hitoshi Abe<br />
            <br />
<a href="https://www.aud.ucla.edu/faculty/hitoshi-abe" target="_blank">Professor Hitoshi Abe</a> is Principal of Atelier Hitoshi Abe; Professor at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design and Director of Paul I. and Hisako Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies; and Director of xLAB, an international think tank examining architecture&rsquo;s elastic boundary through interdisciplinary collaboration which he established in 2017. Professor Abe was the Chair of UCLA Architecture and Urban Design from 2007-17 and holds the Terasaki Chair for Contemporary Japanese Study. In 1992, he won first prize in the Miyagi Stadium Competition, and since then he has maintained an active international design practice based in Sendai, Japan and Los Angeles. Professor Abe holds an Eng.D, Tohoku University, an M.Arch., Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), an M.Arch./ M.Eng., Tohoku University, and a B.Eng., Tohoku University.
           </p>

 <p>Japan Society's <em>Tea Time</em> Season #3 features reflections on the Great East Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster that struck Japan 10 years ago on March 11, 2011. <em>Tea Time</em> Season #3 is proudly supported by Tokio Marine Group and ITO EN (North America) INC. </p>

</div>

041921-VID-tea-time-habe-1920-1080

<div class="divider"></div>
<div class="segment">
<p style="font-weight: normal;">Japan Society’s Tea Time Season #3 is proudly supported by Tokio Marine Group and ITO EN (North America) INC.</p>
<img src="https://images.ctfassets.net/zwqohdz2e0fx/3rSOUjS6tRPiEApvMm3C0L/d2805cf1ef4f6f396d25a859ef9975cc/logo_TokioMarineGroup_568_497_jpg.jpg" wdith="48" height="42">
<img src="https://images.ctfassets.net/zwqohdz2e0fx/7voaFnaa2JtHxG6Ac8mOf3/707fdcc4318986be78ec68692b414ea0/logo_itoen_127_127.jpg" width="48" height="48" style="padding-left: 15px;">
  </div>


Hitoshi Abe

<div class="segment">
    <div class="block">
        <div class="tagline">Tea Time</div>
        <h1>Remembering 3.11 with Megumi Ishimoto</h1>
        <h5 class="date">March 2021</h5>
    </div>

    <div class="video-container">
        <iframe class="video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H7tSVkJyJBs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    </div>
</div>

<div class="segment">
<p><em>Part of <a href="/watch-and-read/tea-time/">Tea Time at Japan Society</a></em> &amp; <a href="/arts-and-culture/ten-years-later-japan-society-remembers-3-11"><em>Ten Years Later: Japan Society Remembers 3.11</em></a> </p>
<p>&quot;I could no longer go back to the normal life I used to have in Tokyo&quot;&mdash;3.11 changed Megumi Ishimoto&rsquo;s life. That fateful day, Megumi Ishimoto was working at a financial company in Tokyo. After watching news reports of the devastation in Tohoku, she left Tokyo in April 2011 to go to a volunteer center in Ishinomaki, a town in Miyagi Prefecture, where she worked removing dirt and rubble from damaged houses. Seeing with her own eyes what she had seen on TV was shocking. But she also witnessed a unique challenge facing women and mothers in Tohoku. Evacuation sites were run by men, and women's needs were not being met; women were not in decision-making positions in rural Ishinomaki. To give these women voices, Megumi founded NPO Women's Eye. Over 10,000 people have participated in Women&rsquo;s Eye&rsquo;s programs, which now works with the local community and government for women&rsquo;s empowerment more broadly. Megumi is now embarking on projects to collect and share data from the past 10 years and from single mothers impacted by COVID-19. Having joined leadership programs in the United States to overcome her own gender bias, Megumi notes: &quot;We hope to prove our case that culture is changeable and that there is no need for Japanese women&mdash;especially women in rural areas&mdash;to be limited by gender bias. Everyone, regardless of gender, can contribute toward building a fair society where no one is limited.&quot;  </p>

<p><strong>Megumi Ishimoto</strong><br />
            Executive Director and Co-Founder, NPO Women&rsquo;s Eye<br />
            <br />
Megumi Ishimoto is Executive Director and co-Founder of <a href="https://womenseye.net/en/">NPO Women&rsquo;s Eye</a>. After the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, Ishimoto left her job in international finance to move to Miyagi Prefecture as a volunteer, working in support activities for women along the Sanriku Coast. In June 2011 she set up the RQ Women&rsquo;s Support Center, which became NPO Women&rsquo;s Eye in June 2013. Ishimoto is an alumna of <a href="http://usjapantomodachi.org/2013/12/10109/" target="_blank">TOMODACHI</a> and the <a href="https://jwli.org/" target="_blank">Japanese Women&rsquo;s Leadership Initiative (JWLI)</a>, a W20 Japan 2019 Committee member, and one of five W20 Japan delegates to W20 2020 Saudi Arabia. She holds a bachelor&rsquo;s degree from Waseda University, a master&rsquo;s degree from Tokyo University, and is a Ph.D. student at Tokyo University researching women&rsquo;s empowerment in the post-disaster period.
           </p>

 <p>Japan Society's <em>Tea Time</em> Season #3 features reflections on the Great East Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster that struck Japan 10 years ago on March 11, 2011. <em>Tea Time</em> Season #3 is proudly supported by Tokio Marine Group and ITO EN (North America) INC. </p>

</div>

041921-VID-tea-tome-ishimoto-1920-1080

Megumi Ishimoto

<div class="segment">
    <div class="block">
        <div class="tagline">Tea Time</div>
        <h1>Remembering 3.11 with General Ryoichi Oriki (Ret.)</h1>
        <h5 class="date">March 2021</h5>
    </div>

    <div class="video-container">
        <iframe class="video" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wvG1lLqy7aE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    </div>
</div>

<div class="block">
<p><em>Part of <a href="/watch-and-read/tea-time/">Tea Time at Japan Society</a></em> &amp; <a href="/arts-and-culture/ten-years-later-japan-society-remembers-3-11"><em>Ten Years Later: Japan Society Remembers 3.11</em></a> </p>
<p>General Ryoichi Oriki, JSDF (ret.) experienced 3.11 as Chief of Staff, Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF). He led JSDF’s heroic response to the disaster, and witnessed the strength the U.S.-Japan alliance. “You can see the respect and appreciation in their eyes,” he recalls the reactions of the elderly and children in Tohoku towards U.S. military personnel helping the region. JSDF’s activities, many of which took place for the first time in JSDF history, also generated immense appreciation among the Japanese public. 3.11 mobilized at most 107,000 JSDF personnel—an equivalent to half of its total forces—who worked tirelessly to not only conduct search and rescue operations that saved 19,000 lives, but also bury the dead, offer emergency reconstruction assistance, and address the Fukushima nuclear accident by helping cool down the reactors, decontaminate radioactive materials, and evacuate nearby residents. 3.11 demonstrated the value of U.S. support and expertise and led to further improvement of U.S.-Japan defense cooperation, according to General Oriki. Foreseeing mega disasters that might impact Japan in the coming decades, he also shares his perspectives on leadership, including Japan’s preparedness and capabilities to manage future crises and overcoming the dilemma faced by military leaders in a national security crisis. </p>

<p><strong>General Ryoichi Oriki, JSDF (ret.)</strong><br />
Former Chief of Staff, Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF)<br />
            <br />
        General Ryoichi Oriki (JGSDF, ret.) served as the 3rd Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff of Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), a position he assumed in 2019. In this capacity, he commanded JSDF’s responses to North Korea’s <em>No-dong</em> missile launches and the deployment of counter piracy enforcement forces off the coast of Somalia in 2019, as well as JSDF’s operations in the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Since retiring from JSDF in 2012, he has assumed a number of positions such as Special Advisor to the Ministry of Defense, and currently serves as Space Policy Committee member of the Japan’s Cabinet Office, among others. He joined the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces (JGSDF) after graduating from the Defense Academy in 1972.
           </p>

 <p>Japan Society's <em>Tea Time</em> Season #3 features reflections on the Great East Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster that struck Japan 10 years ago on March 11, 2011. <em>Tea Time</em> Season #3 is proudly supported by Tokio Marine Group and ITO EN (North America) INC. </p>

  </div>
</div>

041921-VID-tea-time-gen-oriki-1920-1080

<div class="divider"></div>
<div class="segment">
<p style="font-weight: normal;">Japan Society’s Tea Time Season #3 is proudly supported by Tokio Marine Group and ITO EN (North America) INC.</p>
<img src="https://images.ctfassets.net/zwqohdz2e0fx/3rSOUjS6tRPiEApvMm3C0L/d2805cf1ef4f6f396d25a859ef9975cc/logo_TokioMarineGroup_568_497_jpg.jpg" wdith="48" height="42">
<img src="https://images.ctfassets.net/zwqohdz2e0fx/7voaFnaa2JtHxG6Ac8mOf3/707fdcc4318986be78ec68692b414ea0/logo_itoen_127_127.jpg" width="48" height="48" style="padding-left: 15px;">
  </div>

General Ryoichi Oriki (Ret.)

All categories

About

Visit

Press

Stay in Touch