Fusako Sakurai 

Freelance journalist and AIS sommelier.
Graduated in 2001 from Hosei University, Faculty of Sociology, Department of Social Policy Sciences (Environmental Sociology).

 

After joining Toppan Printing Co., Ltd., she worked for 12 years in international publishing rights and at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. In 2008, she received the President’s Award for her work on the launch projects of the French Michelin Guide Tokyo and Hong Kong editions. She became independent in 2019.

 

Using sociological field research methods, she visits sites in Italy alone, photographs, conducts interviews in Italian, and handles everything herself—from transcribing recordings to writing.

 

In November 2023, at the Embassy of Italy in Japan (Tokyo, Mita), she received the Umberto Agnelli Prize from the Italy–Japan Foundation in Rome, awarded to journalists who contribute to mutual cultural understanding between Italy and Japan.

 

In November 2024, she gives a comparative culture lecture on Italian wine and Japanese sake at the University for Foreigners of Siena.
 

Invited by the APT Basilicata Tourism Board, she conducts a four-day on-site reportage.

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In August 2025, she speaks at the Italy Pavilion of Expo Osaka, discussing the natural and historical attractions of the Basilicata region.