by

Ms. Machiko Satonaka
Manga Artist

Dr. Hiroko Hara
Convener, Japan Women’s Watch

Ms. Mariko Bando
Visiting Fellow
Professor, Showa Women’s University

Moderator:

Dr. Anne E. Imamura
Director of Area Studies Division, Foreign Service Institute

Thursday, May 5, 2005

at

JICC Auditorium
1155 21st, NW
Washington, DC 20036



For information or to register for this event please contact Seminar Program at 202-296-6694 or at seminar@spfusa.org

The "Asian Voices: Promoting Dialogue between the US and Asia" Seminar Program is supported by a grant from The Sasakawa Peace Foundation

About the Panelists

Ms. Machiko Satonaka is one of Japan’s most well known manga artists. Her first story, Pia no Shozo (Portrait of PIA) appeared in a weekly magazine at the age of 16, for which she received the Kodansha New Manga Artist Award. She has completed more than 420 works, including Ashita Kagayaku (A Brighter Tomorrow), Asunarozaka (Asunaro Hill), and Ariesu no Otometachi (Maidens of Aries). Ms. Satonaka also received the Kodansha Cultural Publication Award in 1974 and the Kodansha Manga Award in 1982, among others. Among her major work is a series of book-length manga entitled Tenjo no niji (The Heavenly Rainbow) that she has been creating for more than 15 years. It depicts the world of the ancient Japanese poetry anthology, the Man’yoshu. Nineteen volumes have been published so far to critical acclaim. Ms. Satonaka’s works have always had a large following among women due to her keen and in-depth portrayal of female psychology. She also is involved in various activities that promote education and culture. She is a Professor at Osaka University of the Arts, Managing Director of the Japan Cartoonists Association, Director of the Japan Space Forum, Head Adjudicator of the Japan Media Arts Festival, and Commission Member of the Japanese National Commission for UNE
SCO.

Dr. Hiroko Hara is Convener of Japan Women’s Watch. She is also a Professor at the Graduate School of Humanities, Josai International University, and Professor Emeritus of Ochanomizu University. In addition, she is Vice Representative of Japan’s Network for Women and Health. Previously she was a Professor at University of the Air, and Director and Professor of the Institute for Gender Studies, Ochanomizu University. Her various activities have also included being a member of the Advisory Committee for the Prime Minister’s Office on Gender Equality and a member of the Japanese government delegation as an NGO advisor for the ICPD+5 Preparatory Committee in New York. Dr. Hara received Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr. She has more than 250 publications in Japanese. Major works in English include “Environment, Resources, Population and Human Rights: Views as a Japanese Woman” (paper presented in 1999), and “Women’s Participation in Various Areas of Higher Education in Japan” in Women in a Changing Society: the Japanese Scene (National Women’s Education Center, 1990).

Ms. Mariko Bando is Director of the Institute of Women's Culture and Professor at the Graduate School of Showa Women’s University. She is also a Fellow at the Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard University. Previously she served for 34 years in the Japanese civil service; her positions included Director General of the Bureau for Gender Equality and Consul General to Brisbane, Australia. Ms. Bando received a B.A. from the University of Tokyo and an honorary doctorate from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia. She has published 26 books on topics ranging from Japan’s aging society to women’s careers and leadership.

-Moderator

Dr. Anne E. Imamura is Director of the Area Studies Division, Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State. She is also Adjunct Professor in the Department of Sociology, Georgetown University. Previously she was on the faculty of University of Maryland, and a Lecturer at Sophia University and the University of Malaya. Dr. Imamura received a B.A. from Ohio Dominican College, an M.A. from the University of Hawaii, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University. Among her publications are: Re-Imaging Japanese Women (ed. and introduction, 1996), Transcending Stereotypes: Discovering Japanese Culture and Education (co-editor, 1991), and Urban Japanese Housewives: At Home and in the Community (1987).

About the Seminar Program

The "Asian Voices: Promoting Dialogue between the US and Asia" Seminar Program seeks to provide a forum for Asian voices to be heard within the Washington community-voices on a wide range of regional and global topics. The Seminar Program, however, will not be restricted solely to Asia-Pacific issues, or US-Japan relations, but will focus on the broader global questions that confront both parts of the world.