Our Mission
To build a society in which people in all their diversities can live with dignity and pride
What does “a society in which people in all their diversities can live with dignity and pride” mean?
・A society in which everyone can participate fully, equally, and meaningfully in all spheres of public life regardless of gender, sexuality, race, age, disability and any other characteristics
・A society in which people are free from discrimination, bias and harmful practice based on gender, sexuality, race, age, disability and any other characteristics, and feel confident to make their own choices
Our Profile
ARIMATSU Sayaka（she/her）
- Worked for a bank after graduating university, and then changed a career path into gender through the experience of studying and living in the U.S., in which she decided to devote her entire career and life to work in gender, sexuality, and diversity.
- Worked for government agencies including the Cabinet Office of Japan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and Civil Society Organizations as a gender specialist, which gave her opportunities：
- to develop communication and media resources from a gender and intersectional perspective
- to manage projects on gender-based violence
- to engage in the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment including writing a draft of the Ministers’ Joint Statement
- to prepare reporting and dialogue on the Japan’s implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
- to be in charge of a lot of other work for gender mainstreaming or/and women’s empowerment including Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)
- Earned a master’s degree in gender in International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam.
- Lived and/or worked in Vietnam, India, New York, Boston and the Netherlands.
NIITSU Marika（she/her）
- Provided technical advice to approximately 100 JICA projects of all JICA’s Official Development Aid Schemes: Loan, Grant, and Technical Assistance in the sectors of Education, Health, and Social Protection. Provision of the advice covered throughout the project cycle from feasibility study (F/S), planning, implementation, and final and post- project evaluation after 5 years of the project completion.
- Took initiative and successfully managed the 3 JICA projects by overseeing 20 JICA consultants/ experts and regularly providing advice and guidance from a gender perspective.
- Worked as a gender specialist at UNICEF in Southeast Asia and West Africa, was in charge of disaster management and climate change projects, planning and organizing gender and diversity training, and partnerships management with corporates, the Government of Japan and the UN agencies.
- As a senior policy researcher at the Cabinet Office, provided technical advice based on a desk review of women’s situations in other economies during the process of developing relevant policies and action plans of the Government of Japan. Represented the Government of Japan in gender-related UN meetings and facilitated communication on behalf of the Director of Gender Equality Bureau.
- Responsible for coordinating with and adjusting all relevant parties, including ministries and Civil Society Organizations to prepare Japan’s periodic report to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
- Graduated from Keio University. Earned a master’s degree in Gender and Development from University of Sussex, UK.
- Lived/worked in the U.K., Thailand, Indonesia, Niger and Côte d’Ivoire.
Our Information
Japan Gender and Diversity Agency
Established by ARIMATSU Sayaka and NIITSU Marika on the 8th of March, 2024
Based in Yamanashi, Japan
Contact
Please contact us at contact@japangenderanddiversityagency.org you have any questions or need more information.