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.
