Ms. Yumiko Mori is the founder and chairwoman of the board at Comachiplus, a specified non-profit organization she established in February 2012. She previously worked at Toyota Motor Company from 2004 to 2012 in the Overseas Sales Department China Division and Overseas Research Department. She also serves as a board member for the Board of Education in the City of Yokohama since 2018, and was committee member for the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s “Human Resource Development Program of a Multi-Layered Support System” in 2024. Ms. Mori has been appointed senior fellow (non-resident) following her engagements with the 2024 Sasakawa USA Emerging Experts Delegation (SEED) in July and the U.S.-Japan Regional Alliance Series event on “Equitable Resilience and Social Vulnerability” at Tulane University in November. Sasakawa USA thanks her for sharing her expertise on integrating women, children, and individuals with disabilities into her community of Totsuka through various impactful initiatives.
Under her leadership at Comachiplus, Ms. Mori leads a team of about 45 staff members and over 380 volunteers. She has pioneered several initiatives, including a collaborative and innovative café model supporting isolated child-rearing in Japan, and a training program which over 100 people have graduated to start their journey to open their own community cafés. Her notable works include the creation of a Japan-first project to send birthday gift boxes from the community, in collaboration with Yamato Transport. About 8,000 gift boxes have been sent in the past eight years to families of new-born children in four regions of Japan. From this project, Japan’s first ever diaper vending machines were born, with over 300 machines now in Japan. Her efforts have earned numerous awards, including the Semi-Grand Prix in the Japan Regional Revitalization Award and the Excellence Award in the 7th Wellbeing Award by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare.
Ms. Mori holds a bachelor’s of public policy management from Keio University, where she represented Japan in the Hitachi Young Leaders Initiative. Her leadership has been recognized through fellowships and awards, such as the Champion of Change Japan Award in 2019 and fellowships with the Japan Women Leadership Initiative Program and Salzburg Global Seminar.
