Representative Projects

• •  In 1982 I arranged a politics-transcending collaborative performance by a pianist from China and a violinist from Taiwan, having them play Let it Be by the Beatles in Japan.
• •  In 1989, when the Berlin Wall still divided East and West, I filmed the Berlin State Museums on the East German and West German sides separately and then edited the footage to unite the museums of East and West on television prior to national reunification. I invited 12 cellists from the Berlin Philharmonic in West Germany to the Pergamon Museum in East Germany where, transcending politics, they performed in East Germany for the first time at the Pergamon Altar.
• •  I infiltrated the demilitarized zone that divides the Korean peninsula between North and South and filmed blooming flowers, birds keeping their eggs safe, and salmon going upriver from south to north, producing a television program that documented the irony of a political situation that made the zone such a magnificent habitat for flora and fauna.
• •  After seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey, I felt deep admiration for Arthur C. Clarke, the author of the original, visiting him at his home in Sri Lanka and maintaining a correspondence with him until his death.
• •  I produced a three-hour art program, The Impressionists, with French actress Jeanne Moreau, the first of six art programs that I created and produced in which she appeared. The Louvre: Through the Eyes of Children took top honors in the art division at New York Television Festival and a certificate of merit at the Chicago International Film Festival.
• •  I produced the International Video Biennale in Tokyo, inviting artists including Laurie Anderson, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Issay Miyake.
• •  I served as Executive Director for Nobody Knows, whose 14-year old lead won Best Actor award at the Cannes International Film Festival.
• •  I produced Japan’s anime song and cosplay events at the Shanghai Expo. 50,000 Chinese visited the 700-person capacity plaza over ten days.
• •  Organized and served as executive producer for the Tokyo International Viola Competition in 2009 and 2012.
• •  Produced pop and classical music concerts in Miyagi Prefecture for children affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2012.
• •  I am a close friend of Tetsuko Kuroyanagi from the television program Tetsuko’s Room and we continue to work together today. We plan to travel to Sichuan Province in July 2012 to be present for the birth of a panda.

For me, all of these have been marvelous “happenings” that transcend politics or the medium of television.