Press Release

1/31/2018

10 Young Female Leaders from Tohoku’s Disaster Regions visit
Los Angeles for Entrepreneur Training (Feb. 2018)
Specified non-profit Women’s Eye (Executive Director: Megumi Ishimoto) will carry out its
first Los Angeles training as part of the Grassroots Academy Tohoku. From February 4 – 11,2018, ten young female leaders from Japan’s disaster regions (Miyagi, Iwate, andFukushima) and four staff from Women’s Eye will visit Los Angeles. They will learn directlyfrom female social entrepreneurs, leaders of nonprofits, and businesspeople how to overcome
problems, create innovation, and sustain their activities, returning to Japan on February 12.
They will also visit Los Angeles City Hall, meet with Japanese Americans, and hold a panel
discussion with representatives of the Red Cross and other disaster specialists to convey theirexperiences of Japan’s 2011 disasters. Our intention is for young women working to improvethe disaster areas to increase their skills, knowledge of business continuity, and influence intheir regions.
This training has been made possible thanks to the generosity of J.P. Morgan and theTOMODACHI Initiative.
<Background and Issues>
The TOMODACHI NGO Leadership Program, supported by J.P. Morgan, is a multi-year
commitment to support capacity development of Japanese NGOs building upon the lessons of
the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. From October 27 to November 9, 2013, ten
nonprofit leaders from Japan’s disaster regions participated in J.P. Morgan and theTOMODACHI NPO Leadership Program’s Study Tour in San Francisco and Seattle. One ofthem was Megumi Ishimoto, Executive Director of Women’s Eye. After her return to Japan,
on November 25, she organized women living in temporary disaster housing in the town ofMinamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, to meet former US Ambassador to Japan Caroline
Kennedy, who was visiting the town. Following this, in March 2015, as a pre-event of theThird UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, Women’s Eye held the International
Grassroots Women’s Academy in Tohoku in Minamisanriku. Fifteen women from ten
countries and forty women from Japan’s disaster regions participated.
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, adopted at the Third UN World
Conference, states that “female and youth leadership should be promoted”. Inspired by thismessage, Women’s Eye established the Grassroots Academy Tohoku program, which helps
develop young female leaders in Japan’s disaster regions involved in regional development
and social entrepreneurship. Since the program’s inception in February 2015, we have held
seven events with a total of 160 participants, building a network of female practitioners inJapan’s disaster regions. In order to realize the Sendai Framework’s goal of promoting female
and youth leadership, it is necessary to provide people with the skills and support network toovercome the disaster regions’ deeply entrenched gender norms and the attendant difficulties
faced by women working there. These issues have been raised both by Academy participants
and the more than 8000 women who have participated in Women’s Eye’s lectures. The
Grassroots Academy Tohoku program is focused on resolving these two issues by developing
both the next generation of female leaders that will change the region and the social
entrepreneurs who will sustain these changes.

1Press Release

On this occasion, thanks to the generous support of J.P. Morgan and the TOMODACHI
Initiative, who provided leadership training to our own Executive Director shortly after she
established Women’s Eye, we are bringing young female leaders from Japan’s disasterregions to Los Angeles, where they will deepen their understanding of innovation.
<J.P. Morgan’s Work in Japan>
In Japan, J.P. Morgan provides financial services through JPMorgan Securities Japan Co.,
Ltd., JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., Tokyo Branch, and JPMorgan Asset Management (Japan)
Limited. These services include investment banking; securities, stock, and foreign exchange;
fund settlement and trade finance; asset management; and asset utilization. Through agrant from the JPMorgan Chase & Co. foundation, J.P. Morgan’s corporate responsibility
activities support various non-profit organizations and a wide range of employee volunteer
activities. They have been providing support in Japan’s disaster regions since the 2011
catastrophe. For more information, see:www.jpmorgan.co.jp<TOMODACHI Initiative>
The TOMODACHI Initiative is a public-private partnership with the Japanese government,
born out of support for Japan’s recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake, whichinvests in the next generation of Japanese and American leaders through educational andcultural exchanges as well as leadership programs. We seek to foster a “TOMODACHIgeneration” of young American and Japanese leaders who are committed to and engaged instrengthening U.S.-Japan relations, appreciate each other’s countries and cultures, andpossess the global skills and mindsets needed to contribute to and thrive in a morecooperative, prosperous, and secure world.
For more details, please see the TOMODACHI Initiative website:
http://usjapantomodachi.org/ja/<Grassroots Academy Tohoku>
The Grassroots Academy Tohoku is a space for gathering next generation female leaders fromTohoku’s 3 prefectures (Miyagi, Iwate, Fukushima) and encouraging their development
through mutual learning and sharing experiences. The program began in March 2015 withthe International Grassroots Women’s Academy in Tohoku, held in Minamisanriku Town
with the support of the Huairou Commission.
In February 2015’s pre-event training we were delighted to host Akiko Domoto, who has longpromoted women’s initiatives. In February of 2016, we were joined in Iwate by the famous
American seismologist Lucy Jones, and in August by Osaki Asako, director of PlanInternational Japan and an expert on gender. These guests provided support andencouragement for the young female participants. Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science andSociety has provided input on aspects of this Los Angeles training. To date 81 people haveparticipated in our programs.
For any enquiries please contact
Women’s Eye
Megumi Ishimoto
Tel: +81 090-6018-7759 / E-mail: womensacademyintohoku@gmail.com
10-1, Yamanokamidaira, Aza, Iriya, Minamisanriku-cho, Motoyoshi-gun, Miyagi, 986-0782, JAPAN2