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FEATURED
| AMBASSADOR SHIGEO YAMADA Ambassador of Japan to the United States Ambassador Shigeo Yamada assumed his post as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the United States of America in December 2023. Ambassador Yamada is a long-time veteran of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His very first posting was as a Second Secretary in Washington D.C. in 1989. In 2012, he returned to Washington as Political Minister. Prior to assuming his current post, Ambassador Yamada served as Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs. In that capacity, he was Political Director for Japan’s 2023 G7 Presidency, supporting the G7 Summit in Hiroshima and the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Nagano-Karuizawa. Ambassador Yamada’s previous positions in Tokyo include Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs for Foreign Policy, Deputy Director General for North American Affairs, Director for Northeast Asia, Director for Southeast Asia, and Director for the Status of U.S. Forces Agreement. He also served as a Cabinet Councillor in the National Security Secretariat in the Prime Minister’s Office. In addition to his postings in Washington and Tokyo, over the course of his career he was in charge of the public and culture affairs at the Embassies of Japan in London and Beijing. The Ambassador’s broad diplomatic assignments have led him to the realization, “The Japan-U.S. alliance is no longer just a bilateral relationship, but a global partnership.” It is this conviction that informs his perspective as Japan’s Ambassador to the United States. Ambassador Yamada earned a BA in law from Keio University in 1987 and a BA in political science from Carleton College in Minnesota in 1989. He is married to Maki Yamada, who is currently a judge in Japan. Ambassador Yamada enjoys outdoor activities and is an avid runner. |
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REP. ANDY BARR
United States Representative (KY-6) Rep. Andy Barr has served as the United States Representative for Kentucky’s Sixth Congressional District since 2013. Congressman Barr is in his second term on the House Foreign Affairs Committee where he serves on the Indo-Pacific Subcommittee. On both the Indo-Pacific Subcommittee and the Select Committee on China, Congressman Barr brings his extensive experience overseeing the U.S. Department of Treasury’s international portfolio. He is a member of the U.S.Japan Congressional Caucus. Rep. Barr serves as the House Republican Co-Chair of the Former Members of Congress Congressional Study Group on Japan (CSGJ), which is funded by NAJAS partner Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA. He leads the group alongside House Democratic Co-Chair Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), as well as Senate Co-Chairs Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). In April 2025, Cong. Barr visited Japan on a CSGJ program, where he met the mayor of Lexington’s sister city in Hokkaido, Shinhidaka. Congressman Barr graduated from Lexington's Henry Clay High School in 1992, earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Philosophy, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Virginia in 1996, and received his law degree from the University of Kentucky in 2001. |
 | WENDY CUTLER Senior Vice President, Asia Society Policy Institute Wendy Cutler is Senior Vice President at the Asia Society Policy Institute. In this role, she focuses on leading initiatives that address challenges related to trade, investment, and innovation, as well as women’s empowerment in Asia. She joined ASPI following an illustrious career of nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she also served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. During her USTR career, she worked on a range of bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade negotiations and initiatives, including the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, U.S.-China negotiations, and the WTO Financial Services negotiations. She has published a series of ASPI papers on the Asian trade landscape and serves as a regular media commentator on trade and investment developments in Asia and the world. |
| AMBASSADOR KURT TONG Managing Partner, The Asia Group Ambassador Kurt Tong is Managing Partner at the Asia Group, where he leads the firm’s work in Japan and Greater China. A leading expert in diplomacy and economic affairs in East Asia, Tong was a career foreign service officer for three decades. He served as consul general and chief of mission in Hong Kong from 2016 to 2019, and the principal deputy assistant secretary for economic and business affairs at the State Department from 2014 to 2016, serving as the Department’s most senior career diplomat handling economic affairs. Tong also served as deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo from 2011 to 2014, where he played a key role in setting the stage for Japan’s entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership and supporting Japan’s recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake. In earlier assignments, Ambassador Tong was ambassador for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2011, leading the U.S. chairmanship of the organization during one of the most productive periods for APEC. He was one of the original architects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement during the Bush and Obama administrations, including while serving as director for Asian economic affairs at the National Security Council from 2006 to 2008. Prior to that, Ambassador Tong served in Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo and Manila. Ambassador Tong is chair of the National Association of Japan-America Societies and International Student Conferences, Inc. He also serves on the boards of the Mansfield Foundation and the Japan ICU Foundation, is an advisor to Geodesic Capital, the Hinrich Foundation, and the Sasakawa Foundation, and teaches as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. He has a B.A. from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and studied economics at the U.S. Foreign Service Institute. NAJAS wishes to thank Ambassador Tong for his four years of exemplary leadership as he steps down from the NAJAS Executive Board at the end of the Conference. We thank him for his great dedication to our network and the wider U.S.-Japan friendship enterprise through his tireless pro bono service to several kindred groups. Back to Top > |
| REP. VANESSA GROSSL Kentucky State Representative (88th District) Rep. Vanessa Grossl has served as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives since January 2025. Rep. Grossl worked in local government in Lexington where she opened the city’s first international center, oversaw a number of key community outreach and engagement programs, and served as liaison to the Mayor’s International Affairs Advisory Council, and to the city’s Emergency Operations Center. |
| MARGOT CARRINGTON U.S. Foreign Service (ret.), Board Member, NAJAS and Asheville Sister Cities Margot Carrington retired from the Department of State in 2018 after a 25-year as a U.S. diplomat. During that time she served 4 tours in Japan, most recently from 2014-2018, when U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, asked her to serve as her Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs. In that role, Margot oversaw 70 American and Japanese staff throughout the country, and was the ambassador’s advisor on all public diplomacy-related matters. She was responsible for media and digital outreach, as well as numerous bilateral exchange programs, and served as chair of the binational commission that administers the Fulbright program. Before returning to Japan in 2014, Margot was Director of the Washington, D.C., and New York Foreign Press Centers in the Bureau of Public Affairs at the Department of State. From 2007-2010, Margot was Principal Officer for the U.S. Consulate Fukuoka in Western Japan. Besides Japan and Washington, D.C., Margot was also assigned to Malaysia, where she studied Malay at the University of Malaya, before serving as Cultural Attache to the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. In 2018, Margot’s achievements in strengthening U.S.-Japan cultural exchange and supporting women’s advancement were recognized with the prestigious Lois Roth Award for Cultural Diplomacy. She is also the recipient of 3 U.S. Department of State Superior Honor Awards, and a Language Achievement Award for Japanese. She was one of two officers select in 2010 as the Una Chapman Cox Fellow and pursued independent research on ways to ensure the advancement of women in the U.S. diplomatic service. Besides fluent Japanese and decent Malay, Margot speaks Spanish, and is a native speaker of French. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s in Political Science and a Master’s in International Relations. Throughout her government career, Margot has worked closely with grassroots and local organizations, partnering with them to raise the profile of the US and garner support for USG policies, and forge new paths for cooperation with members of women’s groups, serving as a model for working women trying to balance work and family. In retirement, she continues to support a number of non-profits, including serving on the NAJAS board. She serves as advisor to the Japanese Women’s Leadership Initiative and is an active member of the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC). Margot is currently advising Sister Cities International on the September 2025 US-Japan Sister Cities Summit to be held in Izumisano, Japan, and is a frequent lecturer at the Reischauer Center at SAIS in Washington, D.C. Margot and her family relocated to the Asheville area just 4 days before the area was struck by Hurricane Helene last Fall. She is fast becoming a proud North Carolinian and serves as the Regional Director for West Carolina and as board member to the Japan-America Society of North Carolina (JASNC). Margot is also Board Secretary for Asheville Sister Cities, and is actively working to establish a sister city partnership between Asheville and a city in Japan. |
| EMMA CHANLETT-AVERY Deputy Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute's Washington, DC office and the Director for Political-Security Affairs Emma Chanlett-Avery is Deputy Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute's Washington, DC office and the Director for Political-Security Affairs. Previous to this post, she served for 20 years as a Specialist in Asian Affairs at the Congressional Research Service. She serves as Vice Chair of the NAJAS Board of Trustees. |
| MARGO DAVIS Margo Davis, Buffalo native and world explorer, continually endeavors to meld all of her interests and experiences. After joining JapanWNY in the fall, she was asked, along with two others, to represent Buffalo, at the Inaugural International Kanazawa Sister City Cultural Fair in Kanazawa this past May. That experience catapulted her interest in strengthening relationships between cultures, politics, Buffalonians’ awareness, appreciation, government and more. With advanced degrees in Arts Education and Theatre, Margo taught and developed the Visual Arts Curriculum for the Cherry Creek School k-6 program in Colorado. |
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President & CEO of Sister Cities International, Washington, D.C. Ricki Garrett is President and CEO of Sister Cities International in Washington, D.C. She served as Alderwoman at Large and Mayor Pro Tempore of Clinton, Mississippi from 2017 to 2025. Ricki also served as Executive Director of the Mississippi Speech-Language-Hearing Association from 2015 to 2023. In 2014, Ricki founded the first nurse practitioner association in Mississippi, The Mississippi Association of Nurse Practitioners, and served as its first Executive Director. From 2004 until 2011, Ricki served as Executive Director of the Mississippi Nurses Association. During her tenure, MNA became one of the leading nursing organizations in the country through its advocacy efforts, educational offerings, and collaborations with nursing and other organizations state-wide and nationally. Prior to her tenure at MNA, Ricki spent twelve years on the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, governing Mississippi’s eight publicly supported universities. Ricki has also served as a gubernatorial appointee to the Mississippi Ednet Board, the Mississippi Commission on Volunteer Service, the Mississippi Humanities Council, and the Governor’s Task Force on Health Information Exchange. She has also served as president of the Mississippi Stadium Commission and the Mississippi University for Women Alumni Association. In 2005, she was named one of the 50 Leading Business Women by the Mississippi Business Journal and in 2004, was named Woman of the Year by the Mississippi University for Women. She has recently served as the Board Chair of Goodwill Industries of Mississippi and as the President of the Mississippi Society of Association Executives. She currently serves as a Board Member of the Mississippi Municipal League and on the Board of the Mississippi Council on Economic Education. Ricki has a doctorate in higher education from Jackson State University, an M.A. in English from the University of Mississippi, and a B.A. in English from Mississippi University for Women. Her dissertation on Women in Governance won a national Council of Historical Black Graduate Schools/Proquest award in 2008. |
| RYAN GOULDING Ryan Goulding, Temple University, Japan Campus's US Regional Representative, has served in higher education admissions since 1999. After three years in Japan, he passionately promotes TUJ’s unique opportunities, empowering students to thrive in a global academic environment. |
| AMY E. HEVER Executive Director, MLB Players Trust Amy “Emiko” Hever is a social impact leader with 25+ years of experience across arts, disaster services, and sports philanthropy. She has held leadership roles at the Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, Philadelphia 76ers, and now serves as Executive Director of the MLB Players Trust, supporting the charitable interests and legacies of all Major and Minor League baseball players. |
| MAKI HISHIKAWA Managing Director, International Affairs Aflac International, Inc. Maki manages Aflac’s activities in Washington, including U.S.-Japan relations, trade,and global regulatory issues. She serves as co-vice chair and member of the Board of the Japan-America Society of Washington, D.C. She also serves on the Boards of the Japan Commerce Association of Washington D.C.andthe Coalition of Service Industries. |
| MARGARET HSIANG Acting Director, State Department's Office of Japanese Affairs A career Foreign Service Officer, Margaret is the Acting Director of the State Department’s Office of Japanese Affairs. From 2019-2022, she served as Chief and Deputy Chief of Embassy Tokyo's Political-Military Unit. Margaret’s previous overseas assignments include Beijing, Phnom Penh, and Port Louis, Mauritius. Her domestic tours include the Office of Taiwan Coordination, State Operations Center, White House Situation Room, and Cambodia Desk. |
 | DAVID JANES Vice President, North America (Executive Director, American Friends of IHJ) David joined the International House of Japan in July 2024 as Vice President, North America, focusing on strategic partnerships and development. He is also Executive Director of the American Friends of the International House of Japan. With over 25 years in non-profit leadership, David has held executive roles at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Global Citizens Initiative, and United States-Japan Foundation. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from The New School for Social Research, an M.A. in International Affairs from The Fletcher School, an M.A. in Asian Religions from the University of Hawai‘i, and a B.A. in Religion from the University of Mary Washington and was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar at Doshisha University. David chairs the boards of the Japan ICU Foundation and EngageAsia. |
| YUKO KAIFU President, Japan House Kaifu began her career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, with postings in Tokyo, Canada, and Los Angeles. She later held leadership roles at the Japanese American National Museum and MUFG Union Bank. She serves on cultural boards and currently leads JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles as the president. |
| RADM (Ret.) JAMES KELLY Vice President, John Manjiro-Whitfield Commemorative Center for International Exchange U.S., (CIE-US) During his 36-year U.S. Navy career, Jamie spent 9 years in Japan (Atsugi and Yokosuka). He held commands of an A-6 Squadron VA-115 (Japan), the USS Sacramento, the aircraft carrier USS Constellation, and the USS Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group in Japan. His final assignment was as Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan. In this capacity he oversaw key U.S.Japan Alliance priorities, among them managing the first forward deployment of a nuclear-powered warship, the USS George Washington, outside the U.S. He was the longest serving CNFJ ever, and was recognized by the Japanese Government with the Emperor's Order of the Rising Sun, gold and platinum stars. He and his wife, Commander Amy Warrick USN (Ret), reside in Port Ludlow on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula with their two four-legged "children" - Doberman's Hayley and Kenji, and are members of the Japan America Society of the State of Washington. Jamie was President of CIE-US from January 2018 through 2023. He and Amy hosted a "Big Sister" from Hiroshima during Seattle's Grassroots Summit in 2018 and did a home-stay in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture during the 2019 Summit, attended the 2022 Summit in Obuse, Nagano Prefecture and Tokyo, and recently in the USA attended the Grassroots Summit Central Ohio in Columbus in 2023. Yes, he loves Japan! |
| DR. SAM KIDDER Author |
| HIROYUKI KOJIMA Director General, Japan Foundation New York Throughout his career at the Japan Foundation, Hiroyuki Kojima has had rather extensive experience in Asia-related programs, including overseas assignments in the Philippines, China, and South Korea. Prior to the current appointment in New York, he served as the Managing Director of the Global Partnerships Department at the Japan Foundation's Tokyo Headquarters for two years, where he oversaw intellectual dialogue and grassroots exchange programs between Japan and the United States. Read his welcome letter from the Japan Foundation, New York. He holds a B.A. from Kyoto University and an M.A. in Cultural Policy from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS). He is one of the co-authors of Kokusai Bunka Koryu wo Jissensuru (Practicing International Cultural Exchange; Hakusuisha, 2020). |
| JESSYCA LIVINGSTON Executive Director, US JET Program Alumni Association Jessyca Livingston has served as executive director of the US JET Program Alumni Association (USJETAA) since January 2023. She leads USJETAA’s work to support the nearly 40,000 American alumni of the JET Program, as well as its predecessor, the Monbusho English Fellowship Program. Prior to taking the helm of USJETAA, Jessyca was Programs and Membership Manager at the Japan-America Society of Colorado, and she also worked for seven years as the JET Coordinator at the Japanese Consulate in Denver, CO. Jessyca has a long history of leadership in the JET community. After returning to the US, she served as treasurer for the Rocky Mountain JET Alumni Association Rocky Mountain (JETAARM) chapter for two years, and then as JETAA USA Country Representative for another two years, helping guide the JET community through its response to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. In 2012, she led the establishment of the JETAA USA Board of Advisors, and she also served as a founding board member for USJETAA when it was launched in 2015. |
| MARC MARRIOTT Producer & Director Marc Marriott is an award-winning producer/director of television and film. At the start of his career, Marriott lived in Japan and apprenticed with renowned Japanese filmmaker Yoji Yamada. The creative seed for Tokyo Cowboy was planted during that time. This is his first feature film as a director. During his professional career, Marriott has earned a reputation as a specialist in stories of real people in extraordinary situations; from the History Channel’s AX MEN, to the Discovery Channel’s Roush Racing: Driver X. He’s been a Series producer and Director for The Discovery Channel, History Channel, FOX, VH1, TLC, and The Travel Channel, among others. Marriott is a graduate of the Mastersdirecting program at UCLA. His first film, Short Order won the Prix Canal Plus at the Henri Langlois International Film Festival in France and his short film The Snow Child played at Cannes. He has received the Independent Film Channel Award and the Jimmy Stewart Crystal Heart Award from the Heartland Film Festival. Marriott is a member of the Producers Guild of America. |
| TRACY MCINTYRE Sales Manager, Air Canada Tracy McIntyre is Air Canada’s Sales Manager, Eastern Region United States. With 40 years in the Travel Industry, she has seen tremendous innovations, transitioning to electronic tickets/boarding passes, Travel Apps and Global Entry. She has visited all 7 continents, and her love of travel has only grown over the years. |
| NOZOMI MORGAN CEO, Michiki Morgan Worldwide Nozomi Morgan is the CEO of Michiki Morgan Worldwide, an intercultural leadership development firm dedicated to helping multinational organizations drive innovation through capacity building, co-creation, and unleashing collective wisdom. She is also the host of the Boundaryless Leadership Podcast, where she shares insights on navigating cultural complexities and fostering collaboration beyond borders. Nozomi leads a global team in developing leaders through her Boundaryless Leadership framework. Her firm specializes in cultivating Co-created Cultures, which she believes are essential for individuals and organizations to fulfill their purpose and thrive in today’s interconnected world. A long-time board member of the Japan America Society of Georgia and a member of the U.S.-Japan Council, Nozomi is deeply dedicated to strengthening the US-Japan relationship. Recognized as one of LinkedIn’s “50 Great People to Follow” and one of the “25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia,” she has been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, HuffPost, and Japan Times. Nozomi holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management and is a world-class facilitator with a passion for building bridges across cultures. |
| TOMOKO HOSAKA MULLANEY Executive Director, U.S.-Japan Business Council Tomoko Hosaka Mullaney is Executive Director of the U.S.-Japan Business Council (USJBC) at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Established in 1971, the USJBC is the largest U.S.-based association representing American business interests in Japan. Prior to starting her current role, Ms. Mullaney was Vice President, Japan at The Asia Group, a firm that provides strategic and business advisory services to the world’s leading companies. With her deep personal and professional knowledge of Japan, she supported clients across a variety of sectors providing them with advice and analysis of the country’s complex political, economic, and market landscape. Before joining The Asia Group, Ms. Mullaney was an award-winning business journalist and leader in media and technology. She served as deputy economics editor at The Associated Press in Washington, D.C. and was the lead economic writer in Tokyo during the 2008 financial crisis and aftermath. She was a key member of the AP team that reported on the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, and covered numerous Japanese administrations, companies, and business trends. She holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from Waseda University and a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University. |
| STEVE POLLOCK President, Japan Society of Northern California Steve Pollock is President of the Japan Society of Northern California (JSNC) and serves on its Board of Directors. He has had a passion for Japan since spending a year in Hokkaido as an AFS exchange student. He graduated from Harvard in East Asian studies, received an MBA from Stanford, and has had decades of experience in leadership roles in the technology and business services sectors. |
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| YURIKO ROMER Director Yuriko Gamo Romer is an award-winning director based in San Francisco. She holds a Master’s degree in documentary filmmaking from Stanford University and is a Student Academy Award winner, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Scholar, and American Association of Japanese University Women Scholar. Her current documentary project DIAMOND DIPLOMACY, explores the relationship between the United States and Japan through a shared love of baseball. She directed and produced MRS JUDO: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful the only biographical documentary about Keiko Fukuda (1913-2013), the first woman to attain the 10th degree black belt in judo. MRS JUDO has traveled to more than 25 film festivals internationally and was awarded the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary at the 2013 International Festival of Sport Films in Moscow and broadcast on PBS nationally as part of CAAM’s Japanese American Lives 2014. Additionally, her film Occidental Encounters won numerous awards, among them a Student Academy Award Gold Medal; Heartland FF’s Jimmy Stewart Memorial Crystal Heart Award; and National Media Network’s Silver Apple. Romer’s short films include Reflection, Kids will be Kids, Sunnyside of the Slope,Fusion and Friend Ships, a short historical animation about John Manjiro, the inadvertent Japanese immigrant rescued by an American whaling captain. |
| RYAN SHAFFER President, Japan America Society of Washington DC Ryan Shaffer has served as president of the Japan America Society of Washington DC since February of 2019. He previously served as Director of Programs and Development at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, where he oversaw integration of programmatic efforts to advance shared interests in U.S. relations with Japan and other NE Asian Partners. Mr. Shaffer was the founding director of the Mansfield Foundation’s U.S.-Japan Space Forum and the U.S.-Japan Nuclear Working Group and has produced a variety of publications on the topics. Prior to joining the Mansfield Foundation, Mr. Shaffer served as a research analyst for the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan. Mr. Shaffer, who was raised in Portland, Maine, has an MSc in Asian politics from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and a BS in environmental policy from Bates College. Mr. Shaffer sits on the Board of Directors of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, as well as the Western Pacific Fellowship Project. He is also an advisor to the Sake Brewers Association of North America, and founding member of the committee to commemorate the father of Japanese baseball, Horace Wilson. |
YASUKO UCHIDA Director, The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles |
| JOSHUA W. WALKER President & CEO of Japan Society Joshua W. Walker, PhD, is President & CEO of Japan Society. He has held leadership roles at Eurasia Group, APCO Worldwide, and the 2017 World Expo. A former U.S. government advisor, he holds degrees from Richmond, Yale, and Princeton. Raised in Japan, he is bilingual and bicultural. |
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| ANDREW WYLEGALA President, NAJAS Andrew Wylegala began as President of the National Association of Japan-America Societies (NAJAS) in March 2023. He brings a strong background in international commercial promotion and policy in Asia and a passion for the U.S.-Japan grassroots relationship. Beginning his Japan immersion as a high school exchange student in Saitama Prefecture and as a member of the Japan-America Student Conference, Andrew excelled in his career as a senior foreign service commercial officer, including serving as Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, 2012-2017, and earlier in Hong Kong and Seoul. As a Professor of Practice at the National Defense University, he taught economics and industry analysis to security policy practitioners. |
| MASAKI YOSHIKAWA Associate Program Officer, The Japan Foundation, New York Masaki Yoshikawa joined the Japan Foundation, New York (JFNY) in 2021. One of his main tasks at JFNY is to support grassroots exchange and education programming conducted by non-profit organizations throughout the U.S. Before joining JFNY, Masaki gained professional experience in various fields including teaching, college administration, and international education program development. He holds a B.A. in English Education from Kagoshima University and an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from Teachers College, Columbia University. Outside of work, he is enthusiastic about playing and coaching volleyball. |
| MINAKO ZOZA Senior Leader, Japanet America Minako Zoza joined Japanet in 2019, managing charter cruises. During the pandemic, she led a cashless project at Nagasaki Stadium City. Returning to cruises in 2023, Minako managed charters for MSC Bellissima, Silver Moon, and Viking Eden, and launched Mediterranean routes. |
