Shihoko Fujiwara | TEDxTokyo 2012
Few crimes are more loathsome than trafficking in other humans and exploiting them sexually. Shihoko Fujiwara has spent years fighting to end the selling and abuse of women and children, first at the Washington, DC-based Polaris Project and then in Japan after launching Polaris as a local NPO, where she continues to serve as their representative. Their foe is powerful̶the world’s fastest-growing criminal pursuit, in fact but they persevere. Every single day Shihoko and heroes like her field phone calls in many languages, identifying victims and rescuing and supporting them, and getting the message out at children’s facilities and the Immigration Office. In 2008, Shihoko’s alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, recognized her with its Distinguished Alumni Award, and this year the Japanese magazine AERA tapped her as one of the “100 people who will rebuild Japan.” We need so many more like her.