*Hybrid Event*

With sacred trees draped in rope at Shinto shrines, and celebration of spring blossoms and fall colors, trees play an important role in Japanese culture and in the image of Japan overseas. However, controversies over cutting down thousands of trees are gripping Japan, from big cities like Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama, to rural mountain areas. Japan Society board member Rochelle Kopp, who is currently spearheading an effort against the redevelopment of Jingu Gaien in Tokyo that will result in the loss of over 3000 trees, will share what she has learned about the threats to Japanese trees and why trees are suddenly becoming a hot political issue in Japan. She will also share how she has drawn on her experience as a consultant to Japanese organizations to advocate for change in Japan.

Our Amazing Speaker

Rochelle Kopp
Organizer, Protect Jingu Gaien’s trees! Rethink the development plan! online petition (now over 119,000 signatures) https://chng.it/yK8jkkzw
Managing Principal, Japan Intercultural Consulting
Rochelle is a Japanese business culture expert and cross-cultural communications specialist, and the author of numerous books in both English and Japanese. Rochelle has devoted her career to understanding Japanese organizations, how they make decisions and how to influence them. Her work as an activist trying to stop an ill-conceived and undemocratic development project being pushed forward by bureaucratic inertia and behind-the-scenes power brokering is the latest step in this journey. Rochelle holds a B.A. in History from Yale University and an M.B.A. in Finance and Business Policy from the Chicago Booth School of Business.