About Tokyo Docs

Yukihiko AMAGI

Chairperson, Tokyo TV Forum (NPO)

Yukihiko Amagi spent more than 30 years at NHK as a documentary producer, where he produced many quality documentaries that received international recognition. In his later years, he was the director of the department that produces NHK Specials, the public broadcaster’s flagship documentary slot. He then went on to become a documentary distributor, and since 2011, he has been responsible for the management of Tokyo Docs.

Yoshiaki YAJIMA

President, TEMJIN Co., Ltd.

Yoshiaki Yajima founded production company, TEMJIN in 1987. He has produced numerous documentary programs with most of his works concentrating on social issues in China and the contemporary history of China and Japan. Yoshiaki has received many domestic and overseas awards including the Golden Nymph award at the Monte Carlo Television Festival. Recently, he’s been focusing his energies on co-productions with production companies in Asia.

Tetsuo MAKI

Company Executive, DOCUMENTARY JAPAN INC.

Tetsuo Maki co-founded the production company Documentary Japan in 1981 and led the firm as president from 2001 until last year. He has produced many documentaries and received an ATP (Association of All Japan TV Production Companies) Grand Prix Award in 1991. As a board member of ATP, he is committed to international distribution and co-production.

Rumi ONO

Director of International Acquisition & Producer, TV MAN UNION, INC.

Rumi Ono joined production company TV MAN UNION, INC. in 1996 after majoring in media education at graduate school in the University of Wisconsin. Along with acquisition and programming of international films for Japanese TV networks, Rumi is an active documentary producer. She also runs the theatrical and digital distribution division at her company.

Yoshihiro OTO

Professor, Department of Journalism, Sophia University

After working for the National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan, Prof. Oto joined Tokyo’s Sophia University in 1994, where he currently teaches journalism and literature. He was also a visiting researcher at Columbia University and a researcher at the General Affairs Research Bureau of the House of Representatives.

Seiko KATO

President, IMPLEO Inc.

Seiko Kato started her career in the management department of NHK in 1987. She later gained experience working as an international conference coordinator and a bilingual assistant for a joint Japan-U.S.-Australia movie project. In 2001, she established IMPLEO Inc., a company that specializes in interpretation and translation, multilingual narration services, website and catalog production, and temporary staffing and management.

Ken SHIMONURUYU

Producer, DocumentaryCafe

Ken Shimonuruyu has been involved in program production since 1986. He has worked in a variety of genres including investigative reporting, sub-culture, docudramas, and live interactive broadcasts with other countries. His desire is to use the Internet as a platform to distribute documentaries as widely as they are on TV and in movie theaters. To this end, he’s in the process of establishing a community that unites producers with viewers and production financers.

Torao SHIROTA

President, Express Sports Co., Ltd.

Torao Shirota previously worked in documentary production and sports rights and contracts negotiations for NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster. He currently runs a company, which specializes in live sports coverage and sports documentaries in addition to providing services to broadcasters from overseas during international sporting events in Japan.

Atsushi TAJIMA

President, TOKYO VIDEO CENTER INC.

Atsushi Tajima joined production company TOKYO VIDEO CENTER in 1982. Following a stint as a program director, he’s been producing mainly documentary programs for over 20 years. Atsushi is a recipient of an ATP Grand Prix Award, International Emmy Award, and a Grand Prix Japan Prize.

Sachimi NAKAGAWA

President & Sr. Executive Producer, CREATIVE NEXUS INC.

Sachimi Nakagawa joined Creative Nexus in 1989 where she produces documentaries and informational programs. She is currently the executive producer of a hit NHK series called “Cool Japan,” in which foreign people discuss Japanese culture and offer their unique perspectives on things Japanese. Sachimi also produces a show hosted by a well-known comedian that introduces whizz kids and people with exceptional talents. She has won various awards including the ATP Award and the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Award.

Asako FUJIOKA

Head, DD Center

Asako Fujioka has been working with Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival since 1993 as Coordinator, Director, and is now on its Board of Directors. She has also been selection committee member and advisor for Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund since 2006. She organizes film “dojo” workshops with Asian filmmakers, distributes Asian documentaries in Japan, and acts as international liaison for Japanese documentaries like The Horses of Fukushima, The Wages of Resistance: Narita Stories, and Zen and Bones. She is one of the founders and board members of non-profit Independent Cinema Guild in Japan.

Yoko MIURA

Executive Producer, Visual Folklore Inc.

Since co-establishing Visual Folklore in 1981, Yoko Miura has produced dozens of historical and cultural entertainment programs, and mountain travelogues as well as anthropological documentaries in Japan and other Asian countries. Her productions include films about unique mountain religions in North Eastern Japan and the sea people of the Black Current in Taiwan. She is in charge of one-on-one meetings at Tokyo Docs.

Atsuko MOTOKI

Representative Director & Producer, DOCUMENTARY JAPAN INC.

Atsuko Motoki joined Documentary Japan Inc. in 1992 to produce TV documentaries, after working on distribution and co-production at a joint-venture company of NHK and Dentsu. Her productions include biographical documentaries, historical series, travelogues, docudramas, and the film The Disablism: We Don't Quit. She was awarded the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Special Award, the Europe ETC Grand Prix, etc.

Kotaro YAMANE

President, PAO NETWORK INC.

Kotaro Yamane has 28 years of experience as a news and informational program director but since 2010 he has switched his focus to producing documentaries. His main fields of interest are society, politics, and economics.

Ken-ichi IMAMURA

Executive Producer, International Co-Production, NHK Enterprises

Kenichi Imamura joined NHK in 1983 and has produced numerous news programs and documentaries. From 2005 to 2009, he was a marketing director for MICO, NHK’s distribution arm. He then became the commissioning editor of a popular NHK slot called World Documentary. In 2012, he joined NHK enterprises where he actively attends documentary festivals around the world to seek new projects. He has been an advisor for Tokyo Docs since it was established in 2011.