Longtime columnist for The Japan Times and other publications Jane Rees passed away on March 12 at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. She was 95.
Rees was hospitalized after she fell at her home and suffered a serious head injury. She succumbed to complications resulting from her injuries.
Born in Ashland, Pennsylvania, Rees moved to San Francisco and graduated from Stanford University. Along with her family, she moved to Japan in the early 1950s.
Having studied journalism, she joined the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan and wrote for The Japan Times, the Asahi Evening News and the Mainichi Daily News. She also served as the Tokyo correspondent for Diplomat Magazine and San Francisco's Nob Hill Gazette.
She was an active member of the Tokyo American Club, the America-Japan Society, the Japan Society in California and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.
She devoted many of her early columns to such charitable events and to the cordial relations between the Japanese and foreign communities.
Upon the death of her husband, Rees returned to San Francisco but continued to write for The Japan Times. Her column, "Rendezvous," touched on many aspects of life on each side of the Pacific with her deep understanding, admiration and affection for Japan.
She is survived by a son, daughter and two grandchildren.
A private family service will be held at a later date in Honolulu.