BirdLife InternationalTokyo

BirdLife International Tokyo is the Japanese presence of BirdLife International, the world’s oldest and largest international nature conservation partnership working to protect birds and their habitats.

The Tokyo office was established in April 2002 and is run by its Representative Director Keiko Suzue. Its Annual Report, in English, is located here. In Japanese here. Its Japanese language website, under revision, is here.

Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado

Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado, is the Honorary President of BirdLife International. In addition to providing wise guidance and insights, she is an extraordinary ambassador for birds and nature and is tireless in organising significant support for BirdLife out of our Tokyo office across Asia and beyond. She is herself an avid wild bird photographer. Princess Takamodo graduated from Girton College, Cambridge University in 1975, with undergraduate degrees in anthropology and archaeology.

A prolific author, publishing both children’s and photo books of wild birds, she also writes articles about birds every other month in Fujin Gaho, Japan’s oldest women’s magazine. As the Honorary President of BirdLife International, she also attends the twice-yearly Gala Dinner, encouraging global support for BirdLife’s activities.

One of the important and exciting activities for which the Princess is patron are the twice yearly Gala Dinners held in Tokyo and Osaka

Established in 2009, and attended by hundreds of generous donor individuals and companies, the benefits of the dinners support BirdLife’s global nature conservation activities, in particular through the BirdLife International Japan Fund for Science, and support for BirdLife’s Red List work.

A prolific author

Her Imperial Highness has written a range of children’s and photo books, covering topics as diverse as her beloved birds to netsuke, miniature sculptures originating in 17th century Japan. Princess Takamado is one of the leading collectors of netsuke, and she has taken hundreds of photos of her collection and others from her travels.

Through the Lens

Fujin Gaho is Japan’s oldest lifestyle magazine for women, and Her Royal Highness has been writing articles with her own photographs since April 2011. Her articles are published monthly under the title “Through the Lens” with articles about birds published bimonthly, with her own wild bird photography.

A recent piece was entitled Red-headed sparrow, an iconic bird to many Japanese.