EJEF Study Centre

Ms. Iwanaga spent four and a half years of her childhood in the United Kingdom. During that time, she was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Hammersmith, London. Upon graduation from Seishin Joshi-Daigaku (University of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo) in 1971 (BA in English), she returned to the UK. From 1971-1973, she helped to set up Rikkyo School in England and worked as an administrator. In September 1973, she joined HTS Management Holdings Ltd and started the Euro-Japanese Exchange Foundation (now EJEF). From 1985 to 1991, Ms. Iwanaga worked as the Appeal Organiser for the British Museum Japanese Gallery Appeal. With the help of the Keidanren and various industrialists, the Appeal was a great success, with most of the target amount of five million pounds sterling being raised in Japan. Ms. Iwanaga was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for this achievement. She was also awarded a Foreign Minister’s Commendation in 2014 and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays from the Japanese Emperor in 2018.