Japan Office Executive Director
Misako Ito is the Executive Director of Portland Japanese Garden and Japan Institute’s Japan Office in Tokyo. The first person to hold this newly established role, Ito’s rich experience of launching grassroots, community-based exchange programs and establishing networks of intellectual exchanges and international relations have made her a widely respected leader in cultural diplomacy.
As Executive Director, Ito is responsible for establishing a networking framework that will maintain, strengthen, and add connections between Portland Japanese Garden and Japan Institute with organizations and individuals in Japan. She also supports Japan Institute’s three programmatic centers: the International Exchange Forum, International Japanese Garden Training Center, and Global Center for Culture & Art.
Born and raised in Tokyo, Ito studied abroad at the Australian National University in Canberra and graduating from Tsuda University in Tokyo with BA (American Studies), she worked at an American investment bank. She joined Toshi Shuppan, Publishers, where she started her professional career as an editor of 17 years. In 1988 she was involved in launching Gaiko Forum, a monthly journal on Japan’s foreign policy and foreign affairs. Ito served as Editor-in-Chief for the journal beginning in 1999.
In 2004, Ito became the first managing director of the Japan Foundation Information Center (JFIC) at the Japan Foundation, Tokyo Headquarters. She has since held several positions at the Japan Foundation and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the posts of Director of JICC (Japan Information and Culture Center) at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C., Director of the Japan Foundation Los Angeles, Director of JCC (Japan Creative Centre) at the Embassy of Japan in Singapore. She returned to Japan in 2016 to be assigned as Secretary General for the U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchanges (CULCON) at the Japan Foundation in Tokyo. In May of 2023, Ito assumed her director role with Portland Japanese Garden and Japan Institute. She works out of the organizations’ office, located in the International House of Japan in Tokyo.