The 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients (from left: Yuichi Takahashi, Jun Morimura, Mitsue Allen-Tamai, Fumika Ito and Glen Argyle) hold their trophies alongside TUJ Dean Matthew Wilson (right) after the award ceremony.
Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ) hosted its third annual Distinguished Alumni Awards on February 21, 2025 at the Tokyo American Club, bringing together alumni—including past recipients—faculty and members of the TUJ community to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the honorees.
This year’s awardees include business leaders, esteemed scholars and a lawyer who have been widely recognized in their respective fields and have made a meaningful impact on Temple University. The recipients are Glen Argyle, Yukari Kobayashi, Yuichi Takahashi, Dr. Mitsue Allen-Tamai, Fumika Ito and Jun Morimura. (See their biographies below)
At the award ceremony, TUJ Dean Matthew Wilson congratulated and thanked each recipient for their achievements, emphasizing how they have made the university special. He spoke about TUJ’s rapid growth in recent years and its increasing recognition, with numerous local governments reaching out to form partnerships. He highlighted TUJ’s Academic English Program as an example of how the university is working with local governments to enhance international education.
The award recipients, their families and fellow alumni learned about TUJ’s dynamic developments over the years. Throughout the evening, participants formed new connections and strengthened existing bonds over dinner, creating a warm and celebratory atmosphere.
In their speeches, each recipient reflected on their time at TUJ, emphasizing how their education helped shape them into the professionals they are today. “The campus really didn’t matter,” said Glen Argyle, President and Representative Director of Baxter Japan, referring to TUJ’s time in a multi-tenant building in Minami Azabu, Minato City. “It was the people and the lectures. Temple University has outstanding professors and great passionate people and I want to celebrate that tonight. I’m going to try my best to live up to this award and be as distinguished as possible.”
Yuichi Takahashi, Chief Executive Officer at Myria Residential, shared how his career milestones have paralleled TUJ’s growth. He said that he sees a sense of destiny in connection to TUJ, as he was born in 1982 ― the same year TUJ was established. Coming from a long-established kimono business and the only son of a fourth-generation traditional family, he has a truly international background, having studied and lived in multiple countries during high school, university and professional life.
“I always wanted an international path, so I chose TUJ,” Takahashi told the audience. “TUJ really accelerated my life. I spent over 10 years working in different parts of Asia and returned to Tokyo for my current assignment since last year. After reconnecting with TUJ after 20 years since graduation, I was excited to see how much it has grown and how it continues to deliver a high standard of education. I look forward to staying in touch with this amazing community.”
TUJ Distinguished Alumni Awardees
(listed in alphabetical order)
Mitsue Allen-Tamai is a professor in the Department of English at Aoyama Gakuin University in Japan. She holds a BA from Notre Dame de Namur University, an MA from San Francisco State University and an EdD from Temple University. Her research interests include teaching English to young learners and second language acquisition. With 43 years of teaching experience, she has worked with university students as well as children aged three to twelve. She has also taught both pre-service and in-service teacher training courses. Additionally, she serves as the chief editor of MEXT-authorized textbooks for both junior high and elementary schools.
Glen Argyle graduated TUJ in 2013 with an EMBA. He is a distinguished leader in the healthcare industry, currently serving as the President & Representative Director of Baxter Japan. Originally from New Zealand, Glen has over 27 years of experience in Japan, having held various leadership roles in prominent health industry companies such as Bayer, Syneos Health and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. His extensive background in business development, product strategy and corporate roles has made him a key figure in advancing healthcare solutions in Japan, APAC and globally. Glen is committed to improving patient care and driving innovation in the medical field.
After serving as a lawyer for the Japanese Government in the Legislative Bureau of the House of Councilors, Fumika Ito has worked as an in-house counsel in global companies, starting from Oracle Corporation Japan. The learning and training she received at Beasley School of Law at Temple University, Japan Campus has helped her pursue a legal leadership career with confidence in entities such as the Global Business Unit of JTB Corporation and Mondelēz Japan, which led to her current role as General Counsel of SAP Japan. Passionate about helping others on top of her daily responsibilities, she has been involved in global transformation projects to help in-house professionals work with more efficiency, including implementing AI function into the legal tech SAP has internally.
Yukari Kobayashi started her career at IBM Japan in 1987 and later held executive roles at IBM Asia Pacific Services Corporation, IBM Japan, IBM Business Consulting Services, Mercer Japan, Mercer Investment Solutions and Microsoft Japan. She is the Founder & CEO of JC1 LLC and Amanda Life Consulting LLC. Additionally, she serves as an outside director at Nippon Shinyaku Co., Ltd.; Panasonic Connect Co., Ltd. and Bridgestone Corporation. She earned an MBA from TUJ in 2003 and, with expertise in business strategy, IT, consulting and business transformation, she contributes to corporate governance and international business, bridging global and local markets through innovation and leadership.
Jun Morimura is the President of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care in Japan, appointed in July 2020. He earned a BBA in economics and management from the University of Texas at El Paso and an MA in economics from Temple University, Japan Campus. His career includes roles in market research at International Creative Marketing, founding team experience at Amazon Japan, and leadership in Marketing Research & Planning at DHL Express Japan. At Johnson & Johnson, he served as VP of Commercial Data Science at Janssen USA prior to his current role. A U.S. patent holder, he now leads efforts to innovate and extend eye health longevity in Japan.
Yuichi Takahashi currently holds a unique dual role, CEO of Myria Residential, a residential investment platform based in Tokyo, and Managing Director at Crane Capital, a real estate private equity fund based in Hong Kong backed by a reputable U.S. state pension fund. After graduating from TUJ in 2005 with a BA in economics, he worked for global institutions including GE, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank across the Asia-Pacific region prior to his current position. Yuichi’s passion for traveling and learning about new cultures has led him to live and study internationally in the USA, France, Mexico and Germany during high school and university
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