Irene Hirano facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Irene Hirano Inouye
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2009
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Irene Ann Yasutake
October 7, 1948 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Died | April 7, 2020 (aged 71) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Children | 1 |
Irene Hirano Inouye (born Yasutake; October 7, 1948 – April 7, 2020) was an important leader who worked to improve relationships between the United States and Japan. She was the first President of the U.S.-Japan Council, an organization she helped create in 2009.
Irene was also a leader in helping communities and supporting good causes. She served on the boards of many important non-profit groups, including being the chair of the Ford Foundation. Before that, she was the president of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles from 1988 to 2008. This museum is connected with the Smithsonian Institution.
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Her Important Work
Starting in Non-Profit Work
Irene Hirano Inouye spent her whole career working for non-profit organizations. These groups help people and communities. She began her work as the Executive Director of the T.H.E. Clinic. This clinic was a health center for women and families with lower incomes.
She worked there for 13 years. During this time, she learned how important it was to understand that people have different needs. These needs can be based on their gender or their cultural background.
Leading the Japanese American Museum
In 1988, Irene became the director and president of the Japanese American National Museum. This museum was the first in the U.S. to share the stories of Japanese Americans. It shows how their experiences are a key part of American history.
The museum opened its main site in 1992. It has continued to teach people through historical exhibits. It also partners with other communities and museums. The museum has been very important in preserving and teaching about the internment experience during World War II. This was a time when many Japanese Americans were forced into camps. The museum also teaches about Japanese American soldiers in World War II and civil rights.
Building Bridges Between the U.S. and Japan
Irene Hirano Inouye was the President of the U.S.-Japan Council. This group has offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Tokyo. The U.S.-Japan Council started in 2009. Its main goal is to build strong relationships between the people of the United States and Japan.
Irene helped create the Council with other Japanese American leaders. She wanted to give Japanese Americans chances to connect with Japan. She believed that linking Japanese American communities and younger generations to their family's homeland was a great way to make U.S.-Japan relations stronger. She saw that many Japanese Americans were already helping U.S.-Japan relations in their jobs. She felt it was time to create an organization just for leaders who wanted to work on this relationship.
The Council has grown a lot. It now includes many different people and programs. Some of its programs include the Japanese American Leadership Delegation and the Emerging Leaders Program. It also holds big yearly conferences. These conferences bring together government, business, and community leaders from both countries.
The TOMODACHI Initiative
Since 2011, the U.S.-Japan Council has run the TOMODACHI Initiative. This program works with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. It is a partnership between the government and private groups. The TOMODACHI Initiative helps train the next generation of leaders in U.S.-Japan relations.
This program helps young Japanese and Americans get chances to study, live, and work in each other's countries. This helps make sure the partnership between the two countries stays strong in the future. By late 2016, TOMODACHI had raised over $45 million. It had also supported over 35,000 young people in various activities.
Helping Other Organizations
Irene Hirano Inouye was also a leader on many non-profit boards. She was the Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Directors for the Ford Foundation. She also served as a Trustee for The Kresge Foundation. She was a member of the boards for the Independent Sector and The Washington Center. She also advised the Daniel K. Inouye Institute.
Her past community work included being the Chair of the American Association of Museums. She also served on the boards of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Children's Museum. She was appointed by President Clinton to the Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
In 2016, a special fund was started at USC to honor Irene Hirano Inouye. This fund supports research on how leaders of foundations can solve big problems in society.
Supporting Women's Rights
In 1976, the governor of California chose Irene to lead the California Commission on the Status of Women. She traveled across the state and noticed that "Asian American women were invisible." On this commission, she worked with other important women.
In 1980, she helped start the Asian Women's Network in Los Angeles. She was its first president. She continued to work to help women, especially Asian American women, in both the United States and Japan. In 2013 and 2014, she helped launch the Women in Business Summit in Tokyo. In 2014 and 2016, she represented the U.S. at Japan's World Assembly for Women (WAW!).
Awards and Honors
Irene Hirano Inouye received many awards for her work. Some of these came from the Anti-Defamation League, the League of Women Voters, and the National Education Association. She also received awards from the University of Southern California Alumni Association and the Liberty Hill Foundation.
Other honors included the 2012 Japan Foundation Award. She received an Honorary Doctorate degree in 2015 from Southern Methodist University. In 2016, Forbes Japan listed her as one of the 55 Women Leaders of Japan.
In August 2021, First Lady Jill Biden visited Japan. She dedicated a room in the U.S. ambassador’s home to Irene and her husband, the late U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye. In October 2021, Irene Hirano Inouye was given Japan's Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon after her death.
Her Life and Legacy
Irene Hirano Inouye was a sansei. This means she was a third-generation Japanese American. She was born on October 7, 1948, in Los Angeles. Her father's parents came from Fukuoka, Japan. Her mother was born in Japan.
Irene studied Public Administration at the University of Southern California (USC). She was one of only three women in the program at that time. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in 1970. Her sister, Patti Yasutake, was an actress who played Nurse Ogawa on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Irene married United States Senator Daniel Inouye on May 24, 2008. They were married in Beverly Hills, California. Irene's daughter, Jessica, was her Maid of Honor. After her husband passed away in December 2012, Irene continued to work on many of the causes he cared about.
Irene Hirano Inouye passed away in Los Angeles on April 7, 2020. She was 71 years old.
