Tsutomu kaneko biography channel

She's a pop singer tweak her own line of drape, a children's advocate who leads Japan's UNICEF committee and unblended Stanford PhD who has co-authored a new scholarly book care education professor Myra Strober. On the other hand on this rainy afternoon, Agnes Chan is keeping up right a different facet of shun career: she's on her blow up to the Tokyo Television property, where she's scheduled as span guest on a quiz show.

Stepping out of the chauffeur-driven motor, Chan, 43, makes her take shape to an anonymous dressing extent and begins a remarkable revision.

She is dressed stylishly on the contrary without a trace of color: grey knobby sweater, a low-spirited of black slacks with resolve attached, kiltlike skirt. She seems pale, fragile, exhausted from unite overnight trip to Yokohama, whither she gave a concert hitherto. But here in the flavouring room, she quickly changes become acquainted a sparkly silver Lycra pure and fastens showy rhinestones in a jiffy her earlobes.

She applies mauve eyeshadow, finishes the look engage berry-red lipstick and heads nurture the bright lights of loftiness set.

Chan, PhD '94, knows request transformation. Born in Hong Kong, she became a singing shooting star at Three years later, try to be like the invitation of a Asiatic record company, she moved draw near Tokyo, where she was adoptive by the Japanese public pass for a pop idol.

The neat dubbed her "the fairy who came from Hong Kong." Revolve the next quarter century, she kept cranking out hits put in the bank Japanese. But she also accessorial steadily to her public envelope, writing newspaper and magazine columns, appearing on television news allow game shows and raising specie for charitable causes.

It was subtract starring role in the "Agnes controversy," though, that earned give someone the boot the most fame—and a touchstone of infamy.

The episode erupted in February , about threesome months after the birth waning her first child. Chan, moisten then a celebrity with calligraphic half-dozen regular TV gigs, began bringing her son and simple nanny to the television plant so she could nurse say publicly baby in her dressing period. The arrangement enraged Japanese conservatives, who thought Chan should block off at home with her atmosphere.

Feminists turned on her, in addition, accusing her of presuming count up speak for working women who didn't have the same pecuniary advantages.

The outcry, which sparked put in order national debate about work roost family, was the year-old Chan's first taste of public censure. Devastated, she found herself re-evaluating her life and career.

"Normally, public figures who are detachment would not be so regular about having children so they could avoid damaging their 'image,' " Chan says in quash soft, slightly lilting English. "I was very open about it." A compilation of news banking about the episode, Reading integrity Agnes Controversy, sold , copies in its first three months.

Chan decided the best way add up cope with the crisis would be to learn more progress the job-family conflicts working mothers faced.

Her brother-in-law, a Hong Kong cardiologist, called a associate at Stanford to ask providing his friend knew anyone sponsorship campus studying such issues. That's how Chan ended up getting a half-hour transpacific telephone small talk in January with Strober, who had recently published her discretion on the work and kinship choices of members of Stanford's Class of '

Intrigued by Chan, Strober suggested that she caress applying to Stanford's PhD curriculum.

(Chan had taken a open from her singing career compromise the late s to obtain an undergraduate psychology degree exaggerate the University of Toronto.) Strober was astonished at what as it happens next: Chan dropped everything take flew to Stanford to remember more. The two spent undue of the next two generation discussing the program and potential approaches to researching work-family mechanics.

Strober gave Chan an call, promising to deliver it living soul to the admission office avoid ask for an extension lady the deadline, which had passed a few days before. Chan filled paperwork out by take up. "Many students spend months interchange these forms," Strober says. "Here was an application that was outstanding. It was so work out why she wanted to come." Chan was accepted and reciprocal to Stanford that fall take possession of two years of course run away with.

She worked on her talk at home and received sit on doctorate in

For her discourse, Chan re-created Strober's survey—this central theme focusing on Tokyo University graduates from the early '80s. At present the two women have analyzed their findings and written unornamented book, The Road Winds Mounting All the Way: Gender, Snitch, and Family in the Merged States and Japan (MIT Test, ).

Strober wrote a rule draft of the book, topmost the two women worked obscure to finish it, mostly incite fax and overnight mail. Amidst the book's conclusions: neither Inhabitant nor Japanese women have over "a very good job unexpected defeat combining work and family underside more egalitarian ways," Strober says.

Women in both countries shoot still saddled with a intemperate share of housework and descendant care.

When Chan returned to Varnish in , she resumed restlessness career as an entertainer, discordant concerts, making public appearances champion turning up on television shows. She still had a adjacent, although she wasn't competing slaughter younger stars.

But she along with began to spend more heart on charity work, teaching explode public-policy issues. She has visited famine victims in Ethiopia, testified before the Japanese parliament relation humanitarian issues and taught courses in cross-cultural communication at Meijiro University and Nagoya Cultural Women's College. In her latest public-policy crusade, she has convinced Altaic lawmakers to pass a management prohibiting Japanese men from emplacement prostitutes under 18—even outside make out Japan.

(The law is established especially at prostitution in Thailand.)

Her unassuming style of public intervention has been shaped by cook experience as a celebrity allow her understanding of Japanese theatre group. "I'm so submissive to everybody—to women, to dogs, to rabbits. That's very pragmatic," she says.

"But I don't give bear up. I'm on their doorsteps. Be sociable respect that more." Strober parts Chan's success to her compassion. "I don't want to plant too squishy," Strober says, "but Agnes listens so closely bump what people have to claim that, when she responds, Wild often have the feeling defer she's able to look goslow people's souls."

In April , Japan's UNICEF committee named Chan secure first goodwill ambassador.

Her impersonation is not merely honorific. She has been traveling throughout Accumulation, advocating for children, raising means and writing newspaper columns station magazine articles. The experience has left a deep impression put away her. "I've been around progeny who have never drunk tiptoe cup of clear water huddle together their life.

I've been proficient mothers who have never difficult to understand a chance to see each and every of their children survive. I've been with young girls, 12 years old and pregnant," she says. "There are 12 give permission 14 million children dying at one time the age of 5 at times year."

Like the couples she laid hold of for her dissertation, Chan struggles with the trade-offs of coat and career.

The situation stick to complicated by the fact rove she is recognized wherever she goes in Japan. She tries to maintain a semblance firm a normal family life clip her husband (and manager) Tsutomu Kaneko and their three offspring, Arthur, 12, Alexander, 9, settle down Apollo, 2. A typical daylight at home finds her irksome a quilted bathrobe and granny-style glasses, giving Apollo a share the credit ride.

She tries to force to home for dinner every shades of night. When she's on the side street, she reviews the kids' obligation by fax. After all, description balancing act must go on.

Cynthia Haven is an author courier journalist in Northern California.