JANM Announces Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Roundtable in Japan on November 2, 2024

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) will host a roundtable discussion on emerging trends in diversity, equity, and inclusion in Japan and an information session on applying to the 2025 Watanabe Democracy Fellowship. The program will be at the Japan Foundation in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. It is free and open to the public, and RSVP is recommended at janm.org/democracy. 

The roundtable will be moderated by Kaori Iida, deputy chief commentator at NHK, and feature Kazuko Ito, attorney and vice president at Human Rights Now; Miko Oyama, director of Social Communication Division at Keidanren; and Fumino Sugiyama, director of Tokyo Rainbow Pride. The program will also provide information about the application process for the 2025 Watanabe Democracy Fellowship and include reflections from fellows in the inaugural class on their experiences learning about democracy and various issues in the US. 

The inaugural cohort of Watanabe Democracy Fellows visited Los Angeles, Manzanar, and Washington, D.C. over ten days this July. A signature program of JANM’s Democracy Center, the Fellowship provides emerging leaders in Japan with an understanding of American democracy, diversity, and social issues through a Japanese American lens.

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About the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)

Established in 1985, JANM promotes understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. Located in the historic Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles, JANM is a center for civil rights, ensuring that the hard-fought lessons of the World War II incarceration are not forgotten. A Smithsonian Affiliate and one of America’s Cultural Treasures, JANM is a hybrid institution that straddles traditional museum categories. JANM is a center for the arts as well as history. It provides a voice for Japanese Americans and a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture. Since opening to the public in 1992, JANM has presented over 100 exhibitions onsite while traveling 40 exhibits to venues such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and to several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America. JANM is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday–Sunday from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and on Thursday from 12 p.m.–8 p.m. JANM is free every third Thursday of the month. On all other Thursdays, JANM is free from 5 p.m.–8 p.m. For more information, visit janm.org or follow us on social media @jamuseum.

About the Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Democracy Center)

The Democracy Center is a place where visitors can examine the Asian American experience, past and present, and talk about race, identity, social justice, and the shaping of democracy. It convenes and educates people of all ages about democracy to transform attitudes, celebrate culture, and promote civic engagement; educates and informs the public and public officials about important issues; creates strength within and among communities to advocate for positive change; and explores the values that shape American democracy. The Democracy Center looks for solutions that engage communities in self-advocacy, explore the evolving idea of what it means to be an American, and result in actions that bring everyone together.