Mikio Tajima

Mikio Tajima passed away on May 26, 2025, at the age of 91. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Esther S. Tajima, son, Mark Tajima (spouse, Jennifer Haag), daughter, Emiko Tajima (spouse, Joe Handelman), and grandchildren, Claudia, Alex, Damir, and Ravi. His brothers, Kenkichi and Tatsuo preceded him in death.

Mikio was born March 30th, 1934, in Kobe, Japan. At age 19, he traveled to the US to attend university. He graduated from Berkeley (1957) with a BA in political science and went on to earn a graduate degree in political science at Columbia University (1959), where he met Esther, who was a graduate student at the School of Social Work. Mikio and Esther married December 7th, 1958. Mikio joined the United Nations, where he served as an international civil servant for 33 years. Son, Mark was born in 1959, and daughter, Emiko was born in 1963. The family moved to Switzerland in 1970 when Mikio was transferred to the UN headquarters in Geneva. Mikio and Esther lived in Geneva for 19 years before returning to New York City.

After Mikio retired from the UN, Mikio and Esther moved to Japan, where Mikio had a second career as a professor of Peace Studies for eight years at his alma mater, Kwansei Gakuin. Mikio taught a seminar in which he brought groups of Japanese students to the UN in New York to meet with and learn from UN and Non-Governmental Organization staff. After traveling the world Mikio and Esther returned to New York to enjoy all that the Big Apple had to offer, including opera and symphonies, baseball, tennis and excellent food. Mikio surprised us all by completing the half and then the full New York Marathon at age 80.

Mikio and Esther moved to Seattle, Washington in 2018. Although he missed New York City, Mikio loved Seattle’s evergreen trees, spring blossoms, the Seattle Mariners, and loved spending time with family and friends.

A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, August 3rd, 2025, in Seattle and virtually. For information, contact Emiko at etajima@uw.edu.

Donations are not expected but if you would like to do so, donations in Mikio’s memory may be made to Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).