Hitomi is a Japanese diplomat and is studying at UCLA as part of the Ministry’s diplomat training system.  Due to spending her childhood in the U.S., she wanted to contribute to strengthen the friendship between the U.S. and Japan. She lived in New York and was shocked by 9.11, so she has a strong passion for making the world a more stable place; that’s why she became a diplomat and her interest is formulating policy related to international issue.

As a Japanese diplomat, she has worked in the First North America Division, which is one of the most important divisions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, as a guardian of the most prioritized bilateral relationship, the Japan-U.S. Alliance. She worked for some important meetings when President Obama visited to Japan in 2014 and Former President Clinton visited in 2015. She also planned some cultural exchange programs between the U.S. and Japan, such as inviting Former POWs and Japanese Americans to Japan.

Hitomi holds a bachelor degree in Political Science from Waseda University, Japan and now she is in a Master of Public Policy program in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs focusing on global issues. She is pursuing a GPA certificate in Global Institutions and Processes and she will make use of the knowledge and experience at Luskin when she go back to the diplomatic field after finishing the MPP program.