Hanayo Oya

Hanayo Oya is a multi-award-winning journalist, documentary director/producer, author, columnist, scholar, and educator from Japan. She is an Assistant Professor of Media, Communications and Journalism at California State University, Fresno; an Adjunct Researcher at Waseda University’s Institute for the Next Generation of Journalism and Media; and a Fellow Researcher at the International Peace Research Institute at Meiji Gakuin University. She is also a Ph.D. Candidate in Communication at the University of North Dakota, where her research examines global journalism education, AI ethics, and intercultural communication. Her recent work includes serving as Co-Producer of the Emmy-nominated Netflix documentary series Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War (9 episodes, 2024). As a Fulbright Scholar, she conducted research at the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California, Berkeley. She began her career as a television reporter and director in Okinawa, producing award-winning documentaries on the U.S. military, Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, and war crimes committed by the Japanese imperial army during WWII. Committed to using storytelling to hold power accountable and amplify underrepresented voices, Oya has built a diverse portfolio of investigative and narrative projects. Her work includes the critically acclaimed documentary Boy Soldiers: The Secret War in Okinawa (2017), alongside a range of films and reporting that connect history, conflict, and human resilience.