was a Japanese

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

, educator, editor and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowmen ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. She served as the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''

Japan Echo ''Japan Echo'' was an English-language periodical on Japanese issues which was initially published in print form by Japan Echo Inc. between 1974 and 2010. Consisting mainly of translations into English of magazine and news articles originally pub ...

'', an

English-language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

magazine and predecessor of Nippon.com, from 1997 until 2007, as well as a member of the ''Echo's''

editorial board The editorial board is a group of experts, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take. Mass media At a newspaper, the editorial board usually consists of the editorial page editor, a ...

from 1985 until 2007.

Biography

Iwao was born on January 2, 1935. She graduated from

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowmen ...

in Tokyo and then obtained her doctorate in psychology from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1962. She served as a professor at Keio University and

Musashi Institute of Technology , often called or TCU for short, is an engineering, environmental and information sciences focused private university located in Tokyo, Japan. The university has four campuses, the Setagaya campus close to the Tama River at Oyamadai, Setagay ...

(present-day Tokyo City University), as well as a visiting professor at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. She chaired the national Council on Gender Equality and served on the National Public Safety Commission of Japan, in addition to other government and public service posts. In addition to her work as a profession and

social psychologist Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the re ...

, Iwao authored numerous books and papers focusing on

women in Japan Although women in Japan were recognized as having equal legal rights to men after World War II, economic conditions for women remain unbalanced. Modern policy initiatives to encourage motherhood and workplace participation have had mixed results ...

foreigners in Japan is a Japanese language, Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese citizens in Japan, specifically being applied to foreigners of non-Japanese ethnicity and those from the Japanese diaspora who are not Japanese citizens. The word is composed ...

(or ''

gaijin is a Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese citizens in Japan, specifically being applied to foreigners of non-Japanese ethnicity and those from the Japanese diaspora who are not Japanese citizens. The word is composed of two kanji: and ...

''), and the

Japanese media The mass media in Japan include numerous television and radio networks as well as newspapers and magazines in Japan. For the most part, television networks were established based on capital investments by existing radio networks. Variety shows, ...

. Her best known works include ''The Japanese Woman: Traditional Image and Changing Reality'', which was published in 1992. Iwao retired from Keio University in 2005 and stepped down as editor-in-chief of ''Japan Echo'' in 2007. However, she remained active in children's education, especially for girls. Iwao was chairwoman of Group Kilimanjaro, which operates the Sakura Girls Secondary School, a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. In 2007, Iwao was awarded the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

. Sumiko Iwao died on January 11, 2018, at the age of 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwao, Sumiko 1935 births 2018 deaths Japanese psychologists Social psychologists Japanese magazine editors Japanese non-fiction writers Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Academic staff of Keio University Harvard University faculty Keio University alumni Yale University alumni Japanese expatriates in the United States People from Tokyo Japanese women psychologists Women magazine editors