SPAKER

Keynote Speech Mariko Bando

Profile

Mariko Bando is the Chairperson of the Board of Showa Women’s University.

After graduating from Tokyo University, she joined the Prime Minister's office in 1969, beginning what was to be a distinguished career as a government official.

In April 1995, she became Vice Governor of Saitama Prefecture.

In June 1998, she was appointed Consul General in Brisbane, Australia, in this case being Japan's first female Consul General.

January 2001, she became Director-General of the Gender Equality Bureau of the Cabinet office. April 2004, she became professor and director of the Institute for Women’s Culture, Showa Women's University.

From April 2007 to March 2016, she was President of Showa Women's University and from April 2014, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Showa Women’s University.

She is the author of over 40 books, including “The Dignity of a Women” which has sold over 3million copies and “Policies for Women in Japan”.

Special Speech September 16th Hisako Matsui

Profile

Profile

Hisako Matsui is a director and producer of the film.

As a filmmaker, she has made films dealing with women’s lives.

She made her debut as a writer at the age of 75.

Her books, “Uzuku Hito” and “Saigo no Hito” have inspired many women.

Her message is that women should live a life fulfilling their potential, regardless of social conventions.

Moreover, she married an 89-year-old man at the age of 76. What motivated her is in her books.

Special Speech September 17th Kichi Fujiwara

Profile

Kiichi Fujiwara is Professor Emeritus of Graduate School for Law and Politics and Visiting Professor of Institute for Future Initiatives at the University of Tokyo. He was a professor at the Graduate School of Law and Politics of the University of Tokyo from 1999 to March 2022.

He has been a Visiting Professor at the Asian Center of the University of the Philippines, a Research Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the United States, and a Visiting Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Prof. Fujiwara’s works on international affairs include Remembering the War, 2001; A Democratic Empire, 2002; Is There Really a Just War? 2003; Peace for Realists, 2004 (winner of the Ishibashi Tanzan award, 2005), International Politics, 2007; War Unleashed, 2007.

Plenary Session

[1]Climate Change Shina Tsuyuki

Profile

“A 20-year-old environmental activist who inspires youth in Japan and around the world to take action on climate change.

Tsuyuki spent her childhood in Yokohama's Chinatown. She loves living being surrounded by nature, like when she studied at the elementary school in the mountainous village of Yasuoka, Nagano Prefecture. Tsuyuki enrolled in Green School Bali, a private school in Indonesia, where she studied in the jungle in a bamboo building. The school relied on electricity and food it produced all on its own.In 2018 and 2019, Tsuyuki traveled to Europe to attend U.N. meetings on climate change. She was inspired by an encounter with 18-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. To date, Tsuyuki has given talks to more than 3,000 children in total. Her goal is to bring her positive message to 210,000 people across all 47 prefectures.

[2]Women's Health and Technology Francesca Geary

Profile

Francesca Geary is the Country Director of fermata Singapore, a Tokyo and Singapore-based startup that provides comprehensive market entry services and an e-commerce marketplace focusing on women’s health.

She is a recognised leader and personality in the femtech industry within Singapore and Southeast Asia. Recently, she was awarded a "First In" by Femtech Focus for the development of the region’s first ever market map, highlighting the latest femtech trends and opportunities. Prior to fermata, Francesca worked across various industries from public relations, to digital marketing, TV and radio production and publications.

Francesca is passionate about raising awareness and educating people on the importance of women's health and is dedicated to fostering conversations around Femtech across Asia.

[3]Women and Work-Life Balance Post Corona Lully Miura

Profile

Lully Miura is a political scientist who helps policy makers, media, and the public to understand the world and make it a better place. She founded and is president of Yamaneko Research Institute, Inc., a non-partisan and independent thinktank dedicated to the most pressing issues for Japan and the world. Lully earned her PhD from the Graduate School for Law and Politics, the University of Tokyo. She is an honorary professor for Tokyo Int'l University, a visiting executive fellow at Platform for Social Innovation, and PM's advisory board member for "Future Investment Strategy." Her first autobiography, The Meaning of Loneliness, the Taste of Life as a Woman, 2019 touches on the difficulties facing modern women. The book has become a bestseller having covered sensitive topics such as sexual violence, raising a daughter, and losing a baby.

[4]Ageing Society with Focus on Women Masako Wakamiya

Profile

She was born in Tokyo in 1935. She graduated from the University of Tsukuba’s high school in March 1954 and joined Mitsubishi Bank in April. She retired from Mitsubishi Bank in 1997.

Just before she retired, she purchased a computer and joined "Mellow Club", an online club for the elderly. While caring for her mother, she also spent time learning online and enjoyed using the internet. This experience inspired her to tell others how wonderful it is for elderly people to be IT literate.

After releasing the iPhone App "hinadan" in February 2017, Ms. Wakamiya became an instant celebrity. She was invited to deliver a keynote speech at the annual session of the UN Commission for Social Development in February 2018.

Ms. Wakamiya is Director of the NPO Broadband School Association, Vice Chairman of Mellow Club, a member of the Council for Designing 100-Year Life Society, and the founder of Excel-art. She has written "After 60, life will be more and more exciting" as well as five other books.