She founded the Totto Foundation, named for the eponymous and autobiographical protagonist of her book Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window. The Foundation professionally trains deaf actors, implementing Kuroyanagi's vision of bringing theater to the deaf. In 1984, in recognition of her charitable works, Kuroyanagi was appointed to be a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, being the first person from Asia to hold this position. During the late 1980s and the 1990s, she visited many developing countries in Asia and Africa for charitable works and goodwill missions, helping children who had suffered from disasters and war as well as raising international awareness of the situations of children in poor countries. Her visit to Angola in 1989 was the first recorded VIP visit from Japan to this country, and marked a milestone for the diplomatic relation between Japan and Angola. Kuroyanagi has raised more than $20 million for the UNICEF programmes that she has been involved in, through television fund-raising campaigns. She also used the royalties from her bestselling book, Totto-chan, to contribute to UNICEF. Kuroyanagi also participated in the international UNICEF ‘Say Yes for Children’ campaign, along with other celebrities. In 1997, Kuroyanagi published the book "Totto-chan's Children", which was based on her experience working for as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador from 1984 to 1996. Kuroyanagi is a director of the Japanese branch of the World Wildlife Fund. Kuroyanagi has twice brought America's National Theater of the Deaf to Japan, acting with them in sign language. Honours For her involvement in media and television entertainment, Kuroyanagi won the Japanese Cultural Broadcasting Award, which is the highest television honour in Japan. Since then, she has been voted 14 times as Japan’s favourite television personality, for the show Tetsuko’s Room. In 2000, Kuroyanagi became the first recipient of the Global Leadership for Children Award, which was established by UNICEF in the 10th anniversary of the 1990 World Summit for Children. In May 2003, Kuroyanagi received Order of the Sacred Treasure in recognition of her two decades of service for the world’s children. Filmography This is a partial list of films. Thunderbirds (voice actor) (1965-1966) - Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward (Japanese dub) Jack and the Witch (voice actor) (1967) Breaking of Branches Is Forbidden (voice actor) (1968, dir. Kihachirō Kawamoto) Summer Soldiers (1972) Anne no Nikki (The Diary of Anne Frank) as Mrs. Petronella Van Daan (voice actor) (1995) The Book of the Dead