Agnes Chan

Agnes Meiling Kaneko Chan () is a pop singer, a "foreign television personality" ("gaijin tarento"), a Doctor of Philosophy, a professor at Japanese universities, an essayist and a novelist. Since 1988, Chan has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and also supports the Japan Committee for UNICEF.
Career.
Agnes Chan began singing and playing guitar in her junior high years in Hong Kong, as volunteer work for fundraising events. She had a chance to record a cover of Joni Mitchell's "The Circle Game" with her older sister, actress Irene Chan, and it became a hit song in Hong Kong. She became famous throughout southeast Asia through several of Chang Cheh's movies, including "Young People" and "The Generation Gap".
Chan's rendition of "The Circle Game" (1971) was totally different than Mitchell's, but very close to Buffy Sainte-Marie's 1968 version. It was/is misconstrued by many in Hong Kong that Chan was the original composer, whereas in her many Cantonese public interviews, she had yet to clarify by mentioning Mitchell or Sainte-Marie.
Japanese singer/songwriter Masaaki Hirao brought Chan to Japan, and in 1972 she recorded her first Japanese pop hit, "Poppy Flower (ひなげしの花)." Her clear voice, pretty looks, and imperfect Japanese made her a teenage idol. In 1973 her third single, "Splendor in the Grass (草原の輝き)," earned her the Japan Record Grand Prix "Rookie of the Year" award. She graduated from The American School in Japan in 1973.
In 1973 she first appeared on Kōhaku Uta Gassen (with "Poppy Flower (ひなげしの花)"), and subsequently made two more consecutive appearances on the show.
Chan enrolled in Tokyo's Sophia University and studied for two years, after which she decided to take a break from the entertainment business and study social child psychology at the University of Toronto in Canada.
After graduating in 1978, Chan returned to Japan to resume her singing career. Her first Cantonese album was released in Hong Kong in 1979. She won a prize for her peace thesis for International Youth Year 1984. Her first concert in China, a benefit for Soong Ching-ling's children's fund, was held in 1985 at Beijing's capital gym for an audience of 54,000.
Chan's 1984 visit to Ethiopia during a drastic drought and food shortage was covered for the Nippon Television Network's annual "24-Hour TV" charity special. Through these events, she resumed her volunteer work as she continued her entertainment career.
In 1986, Chan married her former manager, Tsutomu Kaneko, and gave birth to her eldest son in Canada. When she returned to Japan the next year she would bring her infant along to the workplace, which was seen as highly controversial ("Agnes" became something of a buzzword in Japan) and raised the question of a mother's place in the working world.
In 1989 Chan began studying with Stanford University's department of education. With Myra H. Strober, she investigated the situations of 10 graduates from Tokyo University and Stanford 10 years after their graduation. This showed significant differences between the men and women of Japan and the US, and earned Chan her PhD. Chan returned to Japan as a lecturer, essayist, and university professor.
In 1998, Chan was appointed the first ambassador of the Japan Committee for UNICEF, established as an independent local non-governmental organisation in Japan, under agreement with UNICEF.
Chan's education had a profound impact on her singing career: by 2000 her recordings had taken a darker, moodier tone.
In 2002, Chan began her work as a novelist with "Perfect Couple" and "Bullet Ring".
Chan released her first self-cover single, "Splendor in the Grass 2005 (草原の輝き2005)," in 2005, and Asahi beverage used the song in an herbal-tea commercial. Chan's latest single is "Flower of Happiness (しあわせの花)". In October she won the 14th "Pestalozzi Education Award" presented by Hiroshima University.
Her new English-language album "Forget Yourself", including a duet with legendary Chinese performer Jackie Chan, was released in the United States in February 2006.
Chan is planning to release three new Japanese singles and make an album during 2007; she also plans to perform 35th-anniversary concerts in 100 Japanese cities and Beijing, China in 2007 and 2008.
In October 2007 it was reported that Chan had undergone breast-cancer surgery in a Tokyo hospital, and is expected to make a full recovery.
She is a Roman Catholic.