Voting Station

Irene Hirano

Please vote to see the next celebrity.

Diplomat

The Resume

    (October 7, 1948-April 7, 2020)
    Born in Los Angeles, California
    Birth name was Irene Ann Yasutake
    Founding President of the U.S.-Japan Council (2009-20)
    President/Founding CEO for the Smithsonian’s Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles (1988-2008)
    Married to Senator Daniel Inouye (2008-12)
    Sister of Patti Yasutake

Why she might be annoying:

    When Jerry Brown appointed her chair of the California Commission on the Status of Women, she said of the experience: ‘Asian American women were invisible.’
    When she tried to expand the Japanese American Museum overseas, it fell into a $10-million debt due to lack of funds (leading to pay cuts and layoffs).
    Her resignation from the Museum board was in part due to disagreements over her growing interest in building ties with Japan, which other members opposed (although it was also in part due to her marrying Senator Inouye).
    Her good work was sometimes overshadowed by the fact that her sister was not only an actress, but a member of the Star Trek franchise.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She was a third-generation Japanese-American.
    She was one of only three women in the University of Southern California's Public Administration program at the time.
    She helped organize the Asian Women's Network in Los Angeles and served as its first president in 1980.
    She served on a number of prominent non-profit boards, and was chair of the Ford Foundation's board of trustees.
    She promoted exchanges between Japanese-American leaders and their counterparts in Japan, including those affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
    She was posthumously awarded Japan's Order of the Rising Sun in 2021.

Credit: BoyWithTheGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying