The International Advisory Board (IAB) supports Portland Japanese Garden and Japan Institute by sharing the organizationsβ mission of Inspiring Harmony and Peace with a global audience and by making connections with leaders in Japan and around the world. This group of highly respected leaders, all from a diverse group of fields and industries, first collected under the IAB appellation in 2011.
Portland Japanese Garden and Japan Institute are honored to announce the appointment of two more globally admired figures to the IAB, both of whom have spent decades in service to others: His Excellency, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the United States of America, Shigeo Yamada and Vice Chair of the U.S. Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), Glen S. Fukushima.
Shigeo Yamada
Ambassador Yamada has served the Government of Japan for nearly 40 years since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in 1986. Prior to assuming his post as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the United States of America in December of 2023, Ambassador Yamada served as Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, taking on major initiatives such as the G7 Summit in Hiroshima and the G7 Foreign Ministersβ Meeting in Karuizawa, Nagano.
Upon his arrival as Ambassador, he was soon tasked with supporting another important milestone β Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishidaβs official visit to the U.S. in April of 2024. βPrime Minister Kishidaβs official visit to the U.S. in April was a significant event symbolizing the unprecedented strength of the Japan-U.S. relationship,β Ambassador Yamada commented later in June. Ambassador Yamadaβs current appointment marks his third time serving in Washington, D.C. Over the course of his career, he has previously been stationed in Beijing, China and London, England.
Born in Tokyo, Japan, Ambassador Yamada earned a BA in law from Keio University in Tokyo and a BA in political science from Carleton College in Minnesota. He is married to Judge Maki Yamada of the Utsunomiya District Court. Ambassador Yamadaβs curriculum vitae can be read here.
Glen S. Fukushima
Glen S. Fukushima is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, a public policy think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., where he focuses on U.S.-East Asia relations. On October 14, 2021, U.S. President Joseph R. Biden nominated him to serve as Vice Chair of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), and the United States Senate confirmed him for this position on April 6, 2022.
From 1990 to 2012, Mr. Fukushima was a senior business executive based in Asia leading several multinational corporations including AT&T, NCR, and Airbus, and was elected to serve two terms as President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. Before his business career, he served in Washington, D.C. as Director for Japanese Affairs (1985-1988) and Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for Japan and China (1988-1990) at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Executive Office of the President. Mr. Fukushima has served on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards, government councils, and university committees, including the Asia Society, Asia Foundation, Japan-United States Friendship Commission, America-Japan Society, International House of Japan, Japanese American National Museum, U.S.-Japan Council, National Portrait Gallery, Mori Art Museum, and Harvard University.
A native of California, Fukushima was educated at Deep Springs College, Stanford University, Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School. He was a Stanford/Keio Exchange Scholar at Keio University and a Fulbright Fellow and a Japan Foundation Fellow at the Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo. He currently lives in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Tokyo. His entire biography can be read here.
