In October 2017, Peggy Mcintosh, Ph.D., WCW senior research scientist and founder of the National SEED Project, gave presentations and conducted a day-long workshop on systems of privilege in Japan. The events were held at Sophia University in Tokyo, the Osaka campus of Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, and the Dawn Center: Osaka Prefectual Center for Youth and Gender Equality. The primary host was Makiko Deguchi, Ph.D., associate professor of Foreign Studies at Sophia University, who is also president of the Society for International Education, Training, and Research in Japan (SIETAR).
Scholars and activists in Japan have been increasingly acknowledging the experience of groups that have been discriminated against, which has raised awareness of the privilege for those who have not had such experiences. Janet Helms, Ph.D., professor of counseling psychology at Boston College Lynch School of Education, and McIntosh co-presented at two of the Sophia University events. Helms lectured on "White Racial Identity Theory: A Model for Explaining Why White People Can’t Talk About Race." McIntosh lectured on "White Privilege Awareness: Social Justice Education of Privileged Groups in the U.S." These themes and models, including the model of a white woman and woman of color co-presenting, were of interest to Japanese audiences in comparison with what has been frequently presented within a homogenous Japanese society. McIntosh also keynoted the 2017 SIETAR 32nd Annual Conference. At the Dawn Center, she presented on Interactive Phases of Personal and Curricular Re-Vision and in a day-long workshop, demonstrated exercises used in the SEED Project for raising awareness of personal and systemic experiences of power and privilege.
