21 Facts About Irene Hirano

Irene Hirano Inouye was an American business executive who was the founding President of the US-Japan Council, a position she held ever since she helped create the organization in 2009 until her death.

Irene Hirano served on a number of prominent non-profit boards, and was chair of the Ford Foundation's board of trustees.

Irene Hirano previously served as president and founding chief executive officer of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles from 1988 to 2008, which is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution.

Irene Hirano dedicated her professional life to non-profit work supporting a number of important communities.

Irene Hirano worked at the clinic for thirteen years, during which time she discovered that there was a need for the public to understand the differences in the needs of people based on gender and cultural backgrounds.

In 1988, Irene Hirano became the director and president of the Japanese American National Museum.

Irene Hirano Inouye served as President of the US-Japan Council, which is headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in Los Angeles and Tokyo.

Irene Hirano Inouye created the Council with other Japanese American leaders to provide opportunities for Japanese Americans to reconnect to Japan.

Irene Hirano saw the importance of connecting Japanese American communities and younger Nikkei generations to the land of their ancestry as an important way to strengthen US-Japan relations.

Irene Hirano saw that although many Japanese Americans had been addressing US-Japan relations in their various professions, the time had come to create an organization of leaders who are dedicated to working on US-Japan relations.

Irene Hirano was the immediate past Chair of The Kresge Foundation and served as a Trustee.

Irene Hirano was a member of the Boards of Trustees of the Independent Sector and The Washington Center.

Irene Hirano was an advisor to the Daniel K Inouye Institute.

Irene Hirano has remained involved in a number of activities to promote women's empowerment within the Asian American community, as well as more broadly in both the United States and Japan.

In October 2021, Irene Hirano Inouye was posthumously awarded Japan's Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.

Irene Hirano was a sansei, which means she was a third-generation Japanese American, born on October 7,1948, in Los Angeles.

Irene Hirano's grandparents on her father's side came from Fukuoka, and her mother was born in Japan.

Irene Hirano was one of only three women in the University of Southern California's Public Administration Program at the time; she received her Bachelor of Science in Public Administration in 1970.

Irene Hirano's sister, Patti Yasutake, was an actor known for playing Nurse Ogawa on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Irene Hirano married United States Senator Daniel Inouye on May 24,2008, in Beverly Hills, California.

Irene Hirano Inouye died in Los Angeles on April 7,2020, at age 71, from leiomyosarcoma.