This Day of Change

As part of a project initiated by Courrier Japon, a monthly news magazine based in Tokyo, 132 photographers in 79 countries were asked to visually document the spirit of hope around the world on January 20, 2009, the day Barack Obama was inaugurated President of the United States. Some photographers were in Washington and recorded the inauguration ceremony itself. Others photographed events and people in different countries, places where hope might be needed most. Each photographer chose his or her own subject. From Inner Mongolia, Johannesburg, the Israel-Palestine border, Dubai, Tokyo, Havana and an African neighborhood in Brussels, to New Orleans, here are powerful, provocative and inspiring images that reflect a universal sense of optimism and desire for change.

Out of more than 1,000 photographs, 132 were chosen to be included in this stunning volume, published as part of the Kodansha Ltd. Centennial Project.