{"id":42120,"date":"2023-05-04T22:52:40","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T22:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/?post_type=news&p=42120"},"modified":"2023-05-04T22:52:43","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T22:52:43","slug":"farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/","title":{"rendered":"Farewell Message from USJC (Japan) Executive Director Junko Tsuda"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n
Pictured above from left:: Junko with TOMODACHI Daiwa House Leadership Conference participants in Boston.<\/em> Right:<\/em> Junko with Legacy Council Member Atsuko Fish, Irene,\u00a0Rear Admiral SEKIGUCHI Yuki (Embassy of Japan) and Peter\u00a0Grilli (The Japan Society of Boston).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My great journey at the U.S.-Japan Council (Japan) has come to an end. As of May 1, I stepped down from the position of Executive Director of the U.S.-Japan Council (Japan). I am currently supporting my successor Mark Ikeno in the leadership transition, where I will remain until the end of June. I cannot thank everyone enough for the wonderful experiences I have had in this role over the past six and a half years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My greatest gratitude goes to\u00a0Atsuko Fish, my lifelong mentor and role model, who introduced me to the Executive Director position after I completed my fellowship at the Japanese Women\u2019s Leadership Initiative in 2015. I am also grateful to\u00a0Dennis Teranishi, who visited the Tokyo office on my first day in the role and gave me his blessing. Thank you to\u00a0Paul Yonamine for your guidance and support; I must say that your recognition kept me going even during tough times. I am also grateful to\u00a0Royanne Doi for her passion for our mission and the kindness she consistently extended to me and the team. This could go on forever, so I have to stop here, but I am truly thankful for all the wonderful leaders in the USJC community who have guided me along the way.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was consistently inspired by the amazing leaders I met through USJC and how many of those wonderful leaders not only care about U.S.-Japan relations, but also do their part to strengthen the bilateral relationship. Like many others, I cherished so many great memories with Irene. She was a beacon and a north star for us. We stay true to her vision and her belief in the power of people-to-people relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My journey as a leader was not always straightforward, even with a very small team.\u00a0 Irene\u2019s untimely passing and the global pandemic presented us with big challenges. We are so grateful for generous sponsors, donors and funders who supported us in difficult times; as a result of that support, we were able to come together and withstand those challenging times together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a team leader, I have always believed in the power of the heart. When you feel safe and have a place to be, your performance quality improves exponentially. We established our team values together and promoted a culture where everyone is respected and their voice is heard. Our team became very cohesive and their hearts and hands were made stronger. With this in mind, I can now hand over the wonderful Japan team to Mark, who brings his wealth of experience as a global business leader to the position. I believe he will elevate the organization to the next level and I would appreciate your support for his success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have virtually opened the \u201cTea Lounge\u201d on Zoom every day from 3:00pm to 3:30pm since we began working virtually for any team members to pop in to chat with me and other peers. The Lounge will be closed on June 30. I will miss you all, Team! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, thank you so much, Suzanne, for your leadership. I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude to the leaders of the Board, the management team, my colleagues, sponsors and donors. My gratitude also extends to all USJC members, TOMODACHI participants, alumni and everyone in the USJC community. While I am saddened to depart, I am excited for our retirement in Yamanashi Prefecture to enjoy an \u201cinconvenient\u201d country life. Yet, my heart stays connected with USJC with deep pride and loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you all and see you again sometime soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My great journey at the U.S.-Japan Council (Japan) has come to an end. As of May 1, I stepped down from the position of Executive Director of the U.S.-Japan Council […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42120","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFarewell Message from USJC (Japan) Executive Director Junko Tsuda - U.S.-Japan Council<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ja_JP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Farewell Message from USJC (Japan) Executive Director Junko Tsuda - U.S.-Japan Council\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My great journey at the U.S.-Japan Council (Japan) has come to an end. As of May 1, I stepped down from the position of Executive Director of the U.S.-Japan Council […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"U.S.-Japan Council\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-04T22:52:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Formal-26-1-2-1024x683.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/\",\"name\":\"Farewell Message from USJC (Japan) Executive Director Junko Tsuda - U.S.-Japan Council\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Formal-26-1-2-1024x683.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-04T22:52:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-04T22:52:43+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"ja\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"ja\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Formal-26-1-2-1024x683.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Formal-26-1-2-1024x683.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u30e1\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Farewell Message from USJC (Japan) Executive Director Junko Tsuda\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/\",\"name\":\"U.S.-Japan Council\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"ja\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Farewell Message from USJC (Japan) Executive Director Junko Tsuda - U.S.-Japan Council","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/","og_locale":"ja_JP","og_type":"article","og_title":"Farewell Message from USJC (Japan) Executive Director Junko Tsuda - U.S.-Japan Council","og_description":"My great journey at the U.S.-Japan Council (Japan) has come to an end. As of May 1, I stepped down from the position of Executive Director of the U.S.-Japan Council […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/","og_site_name":"U.S.-Japan Council","article_modified_time":"2023-05-04T22:52:43+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Formal-26-1-2-1024x683.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/","url":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/","name":"Farewell Message from USJC (Japan) Executive Director Junko Tsuda - U.S.-Japan Council","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Formal-26-1-2-1024x683.jpg","datePublished":"2023-05-04T22:52:40+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-04T22:52:43+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"ja","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"ja","@id":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Formal-26-1-2-1024x683.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Formal-26-1-2-1024x683.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/farewell-message-from-usjc-japan-executive-director-junko-tsuda\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u30e1\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2","item":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Farewell Message from USJC (Japan) Executive Director Junko Tsuda"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/","name":"U.S.-Japan Council","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"ja"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/42120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/42120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42143,"href":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/42120\/revisions\/42143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usjapancouncil.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}