About the Authors:
Mary King, 42, was born in London and trained as a reporter and press photographer in Britain. After working as a journalist in Britain for several years, Mary got bitten by the travel bug and headed off to the Middle East, where she continued her work as a photojournalist. In 1986, at the height of reports of famine in sub-Sahara Africa, she worked as a volunteer in the feeding/hygiene centres at the Wad Sharife Refugee Camp, in Sudan. Since coming to Japan in 1988, Mary has worked on the editorial staff of The Japan Times, The Daily Yomiuri and Asahi Evening News.

Etsuko Shimabukuro, 39, was born in Naha and raised in Shuri, Okinawa. At the age of 20 she moved to Tokyo to study archeology at Meiji University. In 1987 she settled in the United States for four years to study computer science at McPherson College in McPherson, Kansas. After graduating in 1990 with a B.S. in computer science, Etsuko returned to Japan to take up the reigns of her career as an IT system analyst. During her free time, however, she has assisted Mary King as a translator/interpreter and photographic assistant on various reporting/photographic assignments overseas, as well as in Japan.

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