• 9.23.2021 @ 7pm JST – September 23rd Members’ Meeting – Career Mentoring  (7.00-8.30pm) 
• 10.21.2021 @ 12pm JST – October 21st Virtual Lunch – FEW 40th HERStory Event (12.00-1.30pm) 

Message from FEW’s Co-Presidents

Dear Members & Friends of FEW Japan, 

Over the last two years, FEW Japan has undergone some foundational changes. FEW Japan Not-for-Profit Incorporated Association was born on July 1, 2020 and we successfully had our 1st Annual General Meeting in July 2021. We are now in year 2 of our legally incorporated Association and this paved the way for further financial capacity-building to co-create a stronger future. FEW is now stronger than ever!

Multi-stakeholder community-building rocks!

Historically, we’ve been 100% funded by individual women in Japan. With our new Membership/Sponsorship Policy, we have welcomed 8 progressive organizations & companies into our community who want to fund and support our pivotal mission of investing in women’s empowerment. From July 2021, we are also proud to count Audi Japan as the newest collaborator and Corporate Sustaining Member strengthening our community. Stay tuned for more info forthcoming on our website. 

FEW is turning 40!

This October 2021, FEW Japan celebrates our 40th year since its original founding in 1981. To celebrate, we will feature the creative voices, Japan journeys, and HERSTORIES that have sustained this organization in a country that ranks at a mere 120th on the global gender gap. We stand on the shoulders of past directors whose nonprofit service has paved the way for this organization to serve and support diverse women in 2021.

A new team and vision is born!

This July 2021, we welcomed a new board of directors represented by over 9 different nationalities. FEW Japan’s 2021-2023 leadership team co-created a vision to support women in achieving their professional and personal development, with an annual focus on three themes: connecting to womxn in regional Japan, celebrating diversity in tech, and investing in personal wellbeing.

We decided to build a safe space of community and connection across women of all nationalities, sexualities, gender identities, abilities, and paid/unpaid professional pursuits and passions. As an LGBTQ-inclusive space, you’ll see  both women and womxn in our communications. As an apolitical, nonprofit Association for English-speaking women living in Japan, a common denominator is our firm belief in the need for investments in solidarity, equality, diversity and equity.

Taking FEW Digital offers a safe space for multiple communities of women! 

Due to the global pandemic, over the last year we pivoted our offerings to serve our base through online events, engagement and social networking. We grew our membership to include non-Tokyo residents and plan to continue offering online programming for the rest of 2021.

We continue to monitor the vaccination impact, and are growing a *big tent* women’s organization capable of connecting multiple communities, including foreign expat women on short-term positions, long-term foreign/immigrant women for whom Japan is home, English-speaking Japanese women looking for intercultural connection, all of whom seek an equitable, welcoming community. 

FEW Japan is here for you. Get involved and let’s make HERSTORY together!

Our new program year kicks-off on September 23rd and we look forward to bringing you exciting moments of inspiration and connection. In the meantime, join our community-building and 40th anniversary celebrations. We seek volunteers for: 

• our 40th anniversary celebrations team
• our communications team
• our community-building team 

Feel free to contact us with any questions or ideas at president@fewjapan.com. 

Fabulous at 40, FEW Japan is here to stay for another 40! And we have a ton of fun ‘stirring the pot’ for more sustainable progress and equity for womxn in Japan. 

In solidarity,

The post New FEW Milestones, new FEW Board Vision! appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.

Serving on a volunteer basis and working in separate full or part-time jobs, the Board of Directors provides leadership for carrying out FEW Japan’s mission to help women in Japan to reach their full personal and professional potential.

President
Riya Rapp
Riya has a BA in art history and also holds a conceptual jewelry art and a gemologist’s degree from the Gemological Institute of America. Her corporate career began as a specialist for the Jewelry Department at Christie’s Auction House in New York where she became Assistant Vice President. More recently, she has served as Head of Talent for two market research firms in Tokyo and in Sydney and co-ran a public school organic farm initiative. Originally from New York, Riya has also lived in Tokyo and Sydney, but likes to think of herself as a “Have Bag + Yoga Mat Will Travel” citizen of the world. As President of FEW, she hopes to broaden the membership to be more inclusive of younger, and Japanese members using English and relevant content as the common connector. She believes in community and wants to create a vibrant space for all.

Vice-President
Nicola Vote
Nicola has been in Japan for over 20 years, hailing originally from the U.K.. The last decade she has been working in various managerial roles at McAfee (the global cyber security company) and currently drives the Customer Experience advocacy program for the Consumer Business worldwide. In her second year as Vice President, she hopes to continue to leverage her extensive operational experience for the benefit of FEW and its members. Nicola is fluent in Japanese, and is passionate about giving back to the community that has been her home for so many years.

Finance Director
Nora Petersen
Self-expatriated and originally from Germany, Nora came to Japan over a year ago to continue her international HR career in the automotive industry, finding FEW soon after that. In her role as Finance Director, she will draw on her studies and experience in auditing as well as her corporate and operational experience. Having led her company’s women’s career initiative for more than a year, she is now looking forward to contributing to FEW; an international community beyond company and industry.

Membership Director
Sayuri Yuzaki
Born and raised in Sapporo, and with a degree from West Virginia University, Sayuri has lived for nearly 20 years outside of Japan including Washington DC, Paris, Hong Kong, and New York. She has spent the majority of her career in human resources, compliance and general management roles in global companies in Japan and the United States and appreciates the nuances of both cultures, in particular as it concerns diversity at workplace.  Sayuri is a qualified teacher of the Sogetsu Ikebana School and enjoys creativity and calmness through the art of arranging flowers. As Membership Director, Sayuri is keen to get to know FEW members better, and act as an effective representative of the members’ needs on the board.

Public Relations Director
Deborah Latreuille
Originally from France, Deborah had been in Japan for about a decade and is an avid lover of Tokyo. She has worked in various positions  in both Japanese and multicultural contexts where she has enjoyed meeting many great people. Having joined FEW 5 years ago, Deborah has been inspired and energized by the dynamic community of women from all walks of life. In her role as Public Relations Director, she aims give back to FEW by reaching out to and increasing the awareness of FEW among both young women and those already with established careers who could both benefit from and contribute to the community of women in Japan based on the belief that at one point we receive and at one point we give back.

Communications & Marketing Co-Directors 
Ayanna Coleman (Website and Online Content Management)
A transplant from Illinois and then New York, Ayanna now finds herself living in Tokyo. Inspired by passionate thinkers and gracious leaders, it only took one meeting for her to realize FEW was a great place to connect with like-minded individuals. As someone who hopes to grow professionally and as a world citizen  while in Japan, the many experiences and expertise that FEW members share with and elicit from others was an opportunity not to be missed. With degrees in marketing, library and information science along with a background in nonprofit development, entrepreneurship, and digital marketing, Ayanna looks forward to helping shape and advocate for this community of forward-thinking women in her role as Communications & Marketing Co-Director.

Johanna Nousiainen (Content Marketing)
A writer, marketer and food enthusiast, Johanna have been living in Japan for 8 years. Originally from Finland, she is currently working as a brand communication specialist in Tokyo. As a social media addict, almost always online, and when not, in the kitchen to create original recipes and doing food styling for her blog, Johanna looks forward to leveraging her diverse experience as Communications & Marketing Co-Director to create the FEW voice and generate stimulating and inspiring content of interest to the FEW community. She is also keen to share both the best content marketing tips as well as the latest food trends with the FEW members.

Programs Co-Directors
Jackie Steele
Jackie is a Canadian feminist political scientist focusing on the integration of women and diversity into democratic institutions and policy-making in advanced democracies. Over the past 20 years she has worked for a rural municipal government in Nagano, has been a researcher-activist with the Canadian and Québécois feminist movements, and has taught and pursued comparative research at universities in Canada and Japan. Following experiences of 3.11 in Sendai as a new mom, her research in Japan is innovating new feminist philosophies of disaster risk governance through two collaborative research projects, including one tracking the personal aspirations and citizenization of young women community leaders in Tohoku. Jackie is founder and Vice President of NPO Chikuma International Exchange Association in Nagano, and is an avid amateur taiko performing artist. As a member of FEW since 2010, she looks forward to continuing to source inspiring speakers as Programs Co-Director and providing women of all walks of life a place to share their stories.

Annamarie Sasagawa
Annamarie is an anthropologist working in corporate culture development at a Japanese multinational consumer goods company. Originally from British Columbia, Canada, she first came to Japan 15 years ago and worked in tourism and consumer ethnography before moving into her current role. ‘Connection’ has been a long-running theme in her work and life—connecting cultures, ideas, and people—and as Programs Co-Director she hopes to help make FEW an organization that connects members to personal and professional growth through an exciting and diverse speaker lineup.

Special Events Director
Kyoko Nagano
Kyoko is a Japanese national who has lived overseas in countries such as South Korea, Saudi Arabia, USA, Thailand for 17 years as an expatriate together with her family. Since she was little, she has learned Japanese traditional culture such as calligraphy, Nichibu (Japanese dance) Urasenke tea ceremony, Ikebana and Sodo Japanese kimono. It has been her passion to introduce beautiful Japanese culture to people for many years. Her work experience as executive assistant in a trading company, foreign institutions such as AIG, UBS, MetLife has helped many expat executives. This year, she launched two corporations — Mypal Inc, to support cultural teachers as an agent, and Sake Lovers Inc, to support small sake breweries. Kyoko joined FEW in February 2018 and was inspired by many like-minded women. In her role as Special Events Director, she looks forward to coordinating events in line with the interests and needs of the FEW community.

Community Services Director
Tia Haygood
Originally from the USA, Tia Haygood is a Tokyo-based photographer who has helped over 150 Japanese and internationally owned businesses in Japan. She’s skilled in event, portrait, product and food photography, with her main focus being to add visual branding power to local artists and entrepreneurs in the Kanto area. Tia brings an abundant amount of energy and compassion that her models and clients enjoy to her photo shoots. In her second year as Community Services Director, she is looking forward to continuing to provide a space for FEW members to find interesting events and organizations where they can volunteer their time and skills and to creating opportunities for members to leverage their own unique knowledge and expertise to serve fellow members within the FEW community itself.

Strategic Partners Director
Bianca Himmelsbach
Bianca left her home country, Germany, for Japan 10 years ago and first lived in Kyoto, where she was a member of FEW Kansai, before coming to Tokyo five years ago. She has a background in international marketing and works as a marketer and marketing consultant for various organizations to help them grow in domestic and overseas markets. In her free time, she loves discovering unknown parts of Tokyo and new places to enjoy a good cup of coffee. In her second year as Strategic Partners Director, Bianca aims to further grow and curate the Strategic Partners network, connect them with the FEW community and provide our members unique and FEW-exclusive services, benefits offers.

Women’s Start-Up Club Co-Directors
Tanja Bach
Tanja, founder and CEO of Contents Bridge KK, a leadership training company, specializes in empowering the success of future leaders worldwide. Knowing first-hand what it takes to create a business in Japan, she joined the FEW Women’s Start-up Club`s committee in 2016 to support others in their entrepreneurial journey. Originally from Germany, Tanja has lived and worked everywhere except South America and Africa and has been a resident of Japan for the past 18 years. She believes in purpose-inspired action to live and as Women’s Start-Up Club Co-Director she looks forward to continuing to bring women small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs a fun and exciting program lineup to help start or grow their business.

Ann-Katrin Van-Schie
Ann-Katrin loves creating community and supporting others to make them feel ease when living abroad and she does so with her company ‘At Ease’, where she offers coaching and yoga. She is German-Swedish and over the past 16 years has lived in Belgium, Singapore, and Egypt as well as been repatriated to Germany. After her move to Tokyo in 2015, Ann-Katrin joined FEW to meet other women and to get inspired by other people’s stories. Since September 2017 she has served as Co-Director of the FEW Women’s Start-Up Club, and is looking forward to continuing to support, connect and engage with FEW members and other women in the vibrant entrepreneurial community.

Victoria Close
Victoria is a British jewellery designer and creator who founded her vintage kimono jewellery brand in Tokyo three years ago. She has lived in Japan for over 20 years as an international school teacher, mother and entrepreneur. Victoria has been a member of FEW since 2017 and was an active member of the Women’s Start-Up Club for 2017-18. As the newest Co-Directror of the Women’s Start-Up Club, Victoria hopes to share her knowledge of running a small business in Japan with like-minded women, inspiring and encouraging others to tell their brand story with passion and clarity. When she isn’t working in her studio, Victoria enjoys playing the piano and ukulele, visiting galleries and crafting with her two children.

The post Appointment of 2018-2019 FEW Japan Board of Directors appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.

Obituary for Doreen Simmons May 29, 1932 – April 23, 2018

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of one of FEW’s longest patrons and members, the inimitable Doreen Simmons.

Ms Simmons died in her sleep in the early hours of April 23, 2018 at age 85. Details of her memorial service are below.

A stalwart of the Tokyo community for over 40 years, her energy, unique character, freedom and creativity will be sorely missed. Until a few weeks ago, she was still attending her beloved St. Alban’s Church and was active until very close to the end of her life.

Many would remember her from her Sumo Wrestling Commentary and expertise, for which she was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Japan’s highest honour not reserved for royalty or politicians, in November 2017. Or her haunting solos with the British Embassy Choir, her regular appearances around town with her percussion and specifically her bodran drum and her appearances with the Tokyo international players. Then there was reaching the finals of the UK intellectual quiz show, Mastermind, her bungee jump to celebrate her 68th birthday, the tattoo she got in Mongolia while in her 70s and working for Habitat for Humanity or her colorful and irreverent stories from life in Japan since the 1970s. She worked loyally in the Foreign Ministry until very recently and was a fierce and staunchly independent woman, as anyone who tried to help her with her bags, or offer her a chair would attest to!

Doreen at the FEW Bonenkai 2014 and 2016

Doreen spoke for FEW a number of times, most recently in 2011 when FEW celebrated its 30th anniversary, where she spoke of her 30+ years in Japan. She was equal parts fascinating, surprising, inspiring and a bit cheeky. Never short of an opinion, or big on political correctness, she would often say the things you think but don’t say. That same year FEW awarded her a lifetime contribution award at the Bonenkai, for which she was thrilled and surprised. While known for her independence and speaking her mind, Doreen was also humble, gracious and grateful when recognised or honoured. She was a star at FEW parties and would make merry, dance with joyful abandon and imbibe with gay abandon. It won’t be the same without her.

She will be sadly missed by everyone who ever met her in Tokyo and the FEW community. We salute you Doreen and the trails you blazed and the example you set on how to continue to revel in life, with unabashed joy, loyalty, interest, independence, mobility, wellness, curiosity, art, voice, and relevance. We will never forget you.

For those who knew Doreen personally, there will be a full Anglican Funeral, including the Holy Eucharist, at St Alban’s Church on Saturday 28th April from 1:30 pm and a cremation will follow. FEW will be representing at the funeral, and the church has requested, please attend only if you were friends with Doreen, due to limited capacity.

For those who would like to pay their respects there will be a memorial service open to the public in May, and the details will released soon.

With deepest sympathies from the FEW Community.

Learn more about Doreen here:

• ABC News- How did 83yo British woman Doreen Simmons become a sumo commentator in Japan?
• Nottingham Post – How this 85-year-old from Nottingham became a sumo wrestling commentator in Japan
• Video – A Day with Doreen
• Video – Doreen Simmons | Tedx Talk at TEDxMeijiUniversity – 誰が私の将来を決めるのか？誰があなたの将来を決めるのか？

The post Remembering Doreen Simmons, May 29, 1932 – April 23, 2018 appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.

Raena joined FEW in 2016, soon after moving to Tokyo from her native New York. She is a strategic and corporate communications consultant, specializing in reputation management and thought leadership for major global companies. Raena has always had a passion for strengthening cross-cultural ties, having grown up in a bilingual and bicultural family, and having lived in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. She is excited to learn, share, and connect with the inspiring members of the FEW community. Alongside learning Japanese, Raena looks forward to helping share the FEW mission of fostering a network to achieve professional and personal growth.

Learn more about the entire FEW Leadership team here.

The post Welcome New Board Member: Raena Murakami appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.

Videos should be:

• 20 seconds maximum (we reserve the right to edit) of yourself – taken on your iphone/smartphone – saying happy anniversary to FEW however you like.
• Make sure the video is taken in a PORTRAIT format (hold your phone vertically)

Here is an example to help you on your way!

Please send your video to vice.president@fewjapan.com by Thursday, December 1.

Full details on our 35th Anniversary Bonenkai: FEWturistic here

The post FEW 35th Anniversary Call for Video Submissions appeared first on FEW Japan | 一般社団法人FEW Japan.