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CCJA winner founded company to support deaf children
ESG/SDGs
JACOB REEDCONTRIBUTING WRITER

The award ceremony for the fifth Champion of Change Japan Award, CCJA 2021,
was held in Tokyo and streamed live overYouTube on Dec. 10. A record 203 women
had been nominated, and the ceremony
showcased the seven finalists’ accomplishments. The grand prize was ¥1 million anda commemorative crystal bowl donatedby Tiffany & Co. The runners-up won¥250,000, and all received a certificate ofrecognition.
The award was begun in 2017 by the Fish
Family Foundation. It is one part of an ecosystem that aims to highlight the effortsof women leading social change in Japan.
Other initiatives include the Japanese Women’s Leadership Initiative (JWLI) held in Boston, as well as the JWLI Bootcamp held inJapan. CCJA is partnered with Tiffany, Dow
Japan and The Japan Times, with a representative from each present.
The founder and visionary behind
CCJA, Atsuko Toko Fish, is based in Boston.
Herself a recipient of the Champion ofChange award from U.S. President Barack
Obama in 2013, she decided to carry theAtsuko Toko Fish is the founder of CCJA and arecipient of the Champion of Change award
from U.S. President Barack Obama in 2013. CCJA

torch to her country of birth and spearheaded CCJA. Fish attended the award
ceremony from Boston via live video. She
offered warm words of encouragement
to all of the female leaders on the stagein Tokyo, stating her firm belief that theactions of the CCJA leaders will inspire
future generations of women in Japan.

The eventThe ceremony was opened by Japan Fundraising Association CEO Masataka Uo,journalist Noriko Akiyama and Rie Sawanobori of Dow Japan. Both Akiyama andSawanobori count themselves among thefellows of the JWLI program, while Uo has
been involved with CCJA as a judge since
2019.
In their opening remarks, all three ebulliently proclaimed how meritorious allof the finalists were. “It’s not that we arerank-ordering the finalists from top to bottom,” Sawanobori explained. “All of theirinitiatives are meaningful, and they aremaking positive social impacts.” Rather,when choosing the recipient of the topaward, the judges considered deeply therelative need and impact that the award
would have on that particular finalist’s initiative going forward. “We carefully considered who needed that extra push toreally take flight,” Sawanobori said. Afterward, Uo exclaimed, “Honestly, we would
love to be able to give the first prize toeveryone.” He also revealed that five finalists have traditionally been selected froma 25-person short list, “but this year, wewere so impressed with everyone that wedecided we had to go with seven.”
Partners of CCJA also took the digitalstage and sang heartfelt praises of thewomen. Anisa Kamadoli Costa of Tiffany
said: “Congratulations to all the nominees,and in particular the finalists.... You areheroes in your communities and heroes inJapanese society.”
The finalists were brought onto thestage in Tokyo one after another, intro-

Champion of Change Japan Award grand prize winner Yukako Makino with the commemorative crystal bowl donated by Tiffany & Co. CCJA

duced and given an opportunity to say a
few words about their activities for thebenefit of the audience. In previous years,
Fish was physically present and gave eachof the finalists a hug. However, because
the event was livestreamed this time, shegave virtual high-fives instead.

The winner: Yukako Makino
The CCJA 2021 grand prize went toYukako Makino for her inspiring andinfluential work in special needs education for deaf children.
Born with severe hearing loss, Makino

had to learn how to lip-read to understand others’ speech. Despite her condition and the countless obstacles she
faced in Japanese society, she became
employed at Sony Corp. for seven years
as a member of human resources. In 2018,
she left the company to be a full-time
mother and take care of her eldest daughter, who was born with an extremely rarebone disease. “I was made aware of how
few treatment options there are,” she said,“but I was also curious how far educationand care for deaf people had come. I wasshocked to discover that almost nothing

Finalists: 6 extraordinary women
KAORU NAKAYAMANPO PARACANKAORI NAKAJIMA
NPO PICCOLARE

After graduating from Widener University in
the United States in 1991, Kaoru Nakayama
began working in New York. Later, in 1996,
she had the chance to watch the Atlanta
Paralympics. She felt a stark contrast
between the U.S. and Japan in the degree
to which disabled people could take part insociety. Overwhelmed with a desire to makepositive changes in Japan for children withdisabilities, she founded the nonprofit organization ParaCan. Its mission is to instill children with self-affirmation and increased confidence, and encourage inclusive education
throughout Japan for youth sports. As a result of the organization’sefforts, thousands of children with or without disabilities have been
given hope, and four have even participated in the Paralympics.

Kaori Nakajima earned a master’s degree inbiology from Tokyo Metropolitan University. She returned there to become a midwife
after having her second child. She found agreat deal of meaning in helping women go
through all the stages of pregnancy and thenbeyond into child-rearing, but wanted to domore. Having come face to face with horrifying episodes of babies dying on the day they
are born, she began a nonprofit organization, Piccolare. Her group runs a pregnancy consultation desk called
Ninshin SOS Tokyo to support with respect and without judgement
women and girls who are in trouble of facing unintended pregnancy.
Piccolare helps women cope with the physical, mental and social
challenges of pregnancy and aims to instill them with confidence.

ITSUKI DOHI
TRANSGENDER STUDENT EXCHANGE MEETING

KAAI AKIMOTOBLANKET INC. & KAIGO LEADERS

A high school teacher in Kyoto since 1985,
Itsuki Dohi has never stopped progressing with her own education as well. Dohi
graduated with a master’s degree in education from the Kyoto University of Educationin 2015, and followed that up by completinga doctorate in social science from Osaka
Prefecture University, her research focusing
on transgender issues in educational contexts. It was in 1997 that Dohi first realizedthat she was a trans woman, and she began transitioning in 2000.
As an educator, she wanted to help pave the way for more inclusive school life by creating a space for transgender students in thecountry to interact with others like themselves. She has been running a transgender student meetup group since 2006, which has
been a life-changing force for more than 200 trans youths in Japan.

During her time as a university student,Kaai Akimoto worked part time in caregiving for the elderly. This experience opened
her eyes to the reality of an understaffedindustry that was confronted with theproblem of an aging society: Life doesn’tnecessarily end happily. Since 2013, she
has been passionately working on thiscritical social issue through the vehicle ofher company, Blanket Corp. It is engaged
in several projects that support the caregiving industry withspecialized training and know-how, as well as others that raiseawareness about the issues to the wider public. One of its main
drives is Kaigo Leaders, a community that it runs to elevate theskills and talent of young people who are interested in entering
the field of caregiving.

RIE GORGEOUS
SOCIETY FOR ENERGIZING WOMENYASUYO YAMAMOTONPO OLIVE HOUSERie Gorgeous was born in Naha, Okinawa.
After graduating from a vocational schoolfor secretary work and spending threeyears abroad in Australia, she embarked
on a career at a computer company in Okinawa. She rose through the ranks of themale-dominated firm to become a director
soon after, and in her new role, she instituted changes to put more value on women.
Herself a single mother of two, Gorgeous
understood firsthand the unique trials that women face in Japanese society. Now she has been running a volunteer group thatorganizes food drives and charity events for Okinawan women in
impoverished households. Its goal is to put a smile on the faces of as
many women as possible, and let them know that someone cares.

Born in Kyoto, Yasuyo Yamamoto becamea singer at the age of 16. In her 30s, shebecame deeply interested in psychology
after learning about a friend’s phobia. As aresult, she began studying psychology andstarted her own private psychological counseling business while raising her daughter
as a single mother. In 2017, she began her
NPO, called Olive House, which is based inOkayama. Olive House operates as a shelter and counseling center for victims of domestic abuse, primarily
women and children. Recently, Yamamoto has also returned tostudying psychology and is enrolled in a distance-learning program
through Kyoto Tachibana University. She hopes that higher education will help her organization provide even better care for users.

3$*(൲had changed for the better in 30 years.” Asa model of success herself, Makino started
a company in 2017, called Defsapo, to support deaf children and give them hope fora bright future. It is her company’s core
mission to make these children realizethat if they educate themselves and havethe right support, they too can enter intoa career and live happy, fulfilled lives. The
company’s activities include communication and language courses, consultation
sessions for families, accessibility workshops for companies and a host of others.
After she was presented with the grandprize, several of the judges took the stage
to explain the reason for choosing heramong so many deserving recipients. “Assomeone with hearing loss yourself andthe mother of a child with a rare disease,
you personally understand how far Japan
still has to go in supporting people withdisabilities,” one of them said. Moreover,
the judges considered her accomplishments to be especially inspirational giventhat she was able to become the CEO of
her own company despite facing so many
obstacles. Another judge commented,“You are an example of what is possibleand what an inclusive society looks likeup close.”
Not only did Makino learn how toshine brightly herself, but she has worked
tirelessly to light the way for others
and make the world a better place foreveryone.
Fish offered the closing remarks.
With an infectious smile on her face,
she explained how impressive everyone was, and how their actions would
lead to a better, more inclusive tomorrow. “Makino-san’s actions in particular
are representative of JWLI’s core belief ofbeing ‘open, positive and inclusive.’
Now, I expect that all of you will continue to expand your activities as members of the JWLI ecosystem and makeJapan an even better place. Congratulations and thank you to all of you.”In the front row: the CCJA award recipient(middle) and top finalists. In the back row:
the selection committee. CCJA

To the future

Three of the judges remained behind at
the end of the ceremony to offer their
final thoughts on CCJA and what theyenvision going forward.
Uo clearly articulated one of the central
motives of the entire CCJA initiative. By
showcasing the achievements of remarkable women in Japan, CCJA hopes to sow
the seeds of positive action by women allover the country. “What we really wantto accomplish is for women and girls inJapan who are seeing this to feel encouraged and motivated to take action, even if
it is small,” Uo said.
A good sign is that every year more
and more nominees have been coming forward from diverse regions aroundJapan. The organizers of CCJA are excited
to see what typesof women will benominated in thecoming year aswell.
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