UNITED NATIONS, New York —The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will open an office in Tokyo on 1 September.
“UNFPA is very pleased to open an office in Japan, which is one of our top donors and a global leader in the population field,” said Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA. “We hope that the Office will serve to further strengthen our partnership with the Government and people of Japan. We are also delighted to have found such a high-calibre and competent director as Ms. Kiyoko Ikegami.” Ms. Ikegami will be the first Director of the Office. Ms. Obaid will visit Tokyo to attend the official inaugural events for the Office scheduled to take place on 1 October at the United Nations University.
The primary function of the Tokyo Office will be to promote awareness among the Japanese people of UNFPA’s work and the issues it addresses, thereby mobilizing increased support from Japanese policy makers, media and general public. To this end, the Office will interact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in particular and other government agencies. It will also liaise with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP), which works closely with UNFPA on reproductive health programmes and advocacy in developing countries, and the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA), which works with Japanese and Asian parliamentarians and conducts and promotes population research in the region. The Office will also endeavour to strengthen UNFPA’s partnership with the members of the Japanese Parliament, in particular the Japanese Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP). It will also represent UNFPA with local and international media.
The Office’s Director, Ms. Ikegami, is a well-known Japanese professional in the population field who has been working for JOICFP since 1983. As Director of JOICFP’s Planning and Development Division, she is presently in charge of domestic and international advocacy for population and reproductive health. Her experience also includes two years at the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) Headquarters in London as a Resource Mobilization Officer and close work with UNFPA in implementing reproductive health programmes in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Before joining JOICFP, Ms. Ikegami worked for the United Nations Secretariat, New York, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Tokyo.
Ms. Ikegami was recently a member of the Second Consultative Committee on ODA Reform established under then-Foreign Minister of Japan, Makiko Tanaka, who was succeeded by the present Foreign Minister, Yoriko Kawaguchi. She is also a member of the Advisory Council on Assistance to the Women of Afghanistan established under the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yasuo Fukuda.
The UNFPA office will be located in the United Nations University Building at 53-70 Jingumae 5-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo.
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UNFPA is the world's largest multilateral source of population assistance, with programmes in 142 countries. Since it became operational in 1969, the Fund has provided some $5.6 billion to developing countries to meet reproductive health needs and support sustainable development.
Contact Information:
Stirling Scruggs
Tel.: +1 (212) 297-5011
Email: scruggs@unfpa.org