Kaoru Utada

Kaoru Utada is the Director of Programs & Partnerships at the U.S.-Japan Council, based in the Tokyo office. A Japanese American Shin-Nisei (new second generation) “reverse import” from New York City with ancestral roots in Yamaguchi and Tokyo. 

At USJC, Kaoru has developed and managed more than 30 TOMODACHI programs, launched the alumni engagement wing to strengthen the leadership pipeline, and created platforms for students and young professionals to contribute actively to U.S.-Japan relations.

Before entering the nonprofit sector, she spent nearly a decade in broadcast journalism, directing and producing news segments for major American and Japanese television networks—including ABC News, Fuji TV, and NHK—covering political, economic, social, and international issues.

Beyond USJC, Kaoru founded the Hoshuko Alumni Association, Inc. (HAA, Inc.), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit uniting bilingual, bicultural Japanese Americans who have studied in Japanese Weekend Schools across the United States. She is also committed to disaster response and preparedness, which inspired her move to Japan after supporting recovery efforts in the Tohoku region following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. 

Kaoru holds a BA in Asian Studies and Psychology from Skidmore College, and studied Global Affairs at New York University.