Ema Coleman-Ichikawa joined Sasakawa USA as an associate program officer in July 2026. She supports a range of programs at the organization, namely the U.S.-Japan Research Exchange and Security Symposium.
As a bilingual, bicultural individual, Ema grew up splitting her time between Japan and the United States and studied both languages. Prior to joining Sasakawa USA, she lived in Tokyo to pursue a master’s degree at Waseda University’s Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies. During her time in the program, she worked at Human Rights Watch as an advocacy and research intern in the Tokyo office, working on human rights issues in Japan. She studied abroad at Peking University’s Yenching Academy for a semester, and traveled to Bangkok to present her research on China’s Anti-Domestic Violence Law at the Asian University Alliance Conference.
Ema holds a master’s degree in International Relations with a concentration in International Development from Waseda University’s Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in East Asian Languages and Cultures from Indiana University.
