Japanese writer Yoshiko Sakurai to give public lecture on October 13

Yoshiko Sakurai

Yoshiko Sakurai, considered a celebrity in Japan for her journalism career and activism in issues such as AIDS, will give a lecture at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa titled, “The Changing of the Guard in Japan: Its Impact and Significance for Japan’s Domestic Politics and Relations with the United States, China, Asia, and Europe.”

 Her free public talk, which will look at Japan’s recent election and its impact on foreign relations, will be held from 4:30-6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13, 2009, at the School of Architecture Auditorium.

Sakurai, who holds a history degree from UH Mānoa, worked as a NTV national newscaster in Japan for 16 years before retiring to become a prolific writer.  She has authored more than 45 books, including the ground-breaking  “AIDS Crime: The Tragedy of Hemophiliacs,” which criticized the poor response of health officials and drug firms in Japan to the dangers of HIV infection from unheated, contaminated blood.

In a 2006 article in The Japan Times, she was described as Japan’s “bravest and most responsible journalist.  Her in-depth investigations have unnerved members of the establishment for decades.” 

The seminar is sponsored by the School of Pacific and Asian Studies, the Center for Japanese Studies, Chancellor’s Office, and History Department.  Parking is available on campus after 4:00 p.m. for $5.  The Architecture Building has a large parking lot accessible from University Avenue.

For more information, see the Web site at http://www.hawaii.edu/cjs.  For disability access, please contact the Center for Japanese Studies at 956-2665 or cjs@hawaii.edu.