Iwao Ayusawa

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Iwao Frederick Ayusawa (October 15, 1894-November 30, 1972) was a diplomat and international authority on social and labor issues.

He graduated from Haverford College in 1917, and then attended Columbia University, from which he graduated in 1920. He served as the Japanese delegate to the International Labor Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and as Director of the Tokyo branch of the ILO until 1939. He joined the staff of the International Christian University in 1952. In 1956, he received an honorary degree from Haverford College. He published several books and articles, including A History of Labor in Modern Japan in 1966.

Iwao Ayusawa was also a notable member of the small Japanese Quaker community, mainly represented by the Friends Center Committee which was formed some years before the war began to represent Friends to those of various countries who came to Japan with an interest in Quakerism, and to serve the Jewish refugees who were coming in large numbers to Japan at that time.

On October 14, 1922, Ayusawa married Tomiko Yoshioka. They had several children, including a daughter Tsuyuko (born 1923), who married Léopold d'Avout, the 5th duc d'Auerstaedt, and became the mother of the sixth and current duc.