Irene Inouye, 71, Fund-Raising Champion of Japanese-Americans, Dies (New York Times)

She headed two major foundations, established a Japanese American museum and, the widow of a senator, quietly helped lift Detroit out of bankruptcy.

Irene Hirano Inouye in 2013 with President Barack Obama. Among her many accomplishments was creating the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles and heading the California Commission on the Status of Women. Credit…Evan Vucci/Associated Press

Irene Hirano Inouye, who established the nation’s premier Japanese-American museum, in Los Angeles, and who, as a philanthropic leader, helped leverage hundreds of millions of dollars to lift Detroit out of bankruptcy in 2014, died on April 7 at her home in Los Angeles. She was 71.

Her death was announced by the U.S.-Japan Council, of which she was president. Her daughter, Jennifer Hirano, said the cause was leiomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that affects muscle tissue.