Celebratory Remarks on the 50th Anniversary of the Japan Foundation Awards

I would like to offer my sincere congratulations and heartfelt delight on the 50th anniversary of the Japan Foundation Awards.

These Awards started in 1973, the year after the establishment of the Japan Foundation. Our Technology Promotion Association (Thailand-Japan) (TPA) was also formed in Thailand in that same year.

During the 1970s, Japan’s rapid economic growth was continuing and Japan proactively opened its doors to the world. It was a period that saw the start of a focus on mutual international understanding and promoting friendship and goodwill. During this time, we formed the TPA in Thailand so that former Japanese exchange students and trainees could advance friendship, goodwill, and industrial development between Thailand and Japan. During these 50 years, we have educated a total of over 300,000 Japanese-language learners at Thailand’s largest private Japanese-language school, and focused on initiatives such as Thai language education for Japanese people in Thailand, as well as facilitating private-sector exchange between our countries and developing human resources for industry. These initiatives were well-received, and in 2013 we were given a Japan Foundation Award, which, while unexpected, was a great honor and joy for the TPA.

I am confident that our activities would not have borne fruit without multi-layered support from the Japan Foundation, including support for translated versions of Japanese books and Japanese textbooks, and for running long-term training for Japanese-language teachers in Japan and seminars for Japanese-language teachers in Thailand. Thank you once again for this.

In the last few years, the spread of COVID-19 around the world has severely impacted exchange between our peoples. Nevertheless, we will not stop here. We hope to deepen our initiatives to further contribute to exchange activities between Thailand and Japan.

Once again, I extend my best wishes on the 50th anniversary of the Japan Foundation Awards, and hope that we can work together for the next 50 years.

Prayoon Shiowattana
President
Technology Promotion Association (Thailand-Japan) (TPA)

(Original text in Japanese)

The Japan Foundation Awards (2013)