The Japan Foundation Awards / Special Prizes (1999)

Each year, the Japan Foundation confers The Japan Foundation Awards and the Japan Foundation Special Prizes on individuals and organizations who have made outstanding contributions to cultural exchange and mutual understanding between Japan and other countries. The awards are made in recognition of these achievements, and to encourage the recipients in future endeavors. The Awards are conferred in recognition of conspicuous past contributions upon those whom it is thought will continue to be influential; the Special Prizes are awarded to individuals or organizations of impressive achievement, in the particular hope that they will be increasingly active in the future.
The Awards Ceremony and Reception for the recipients will take place on Thursday, October 7, from 11:00 a.m. at the ANA Hotel Tokyo.

The Japan Foundation Awards

The Japan Foundation Awards

 Photo of Frank B. Gibney

Frank B. Gibney
President, The Pacific Basin Institute at Pomona College
As a journalist and a publisher, Professor Gibney has made a great contribution toward a better understanding of Japan and East Asia in the U.S., and, as founding director of the Pacific Basin Institute, has also served to bring American and Asian people together into intellectual dialogue through its many symposiums, seminars, and other programs.

Brief Personal History

1945
Graduated from Yale University
1949
Tokyo Bureau Chief of Time
1954
Senior Features Editor of Newsweek
1957
Editorial Writer for Life
1957 - 59
Chief consultant to the House of Representatives' Committee on Space and Astronautics
1961 - 65
Publisher of Show magazine
1964
White House speech writer for President Lyndon Johnson
1966 - 76
President of Encyclopaedia Britannica (Japan)
1979 -
President of the Pacific Basin Institute
1984 - 90
Member and Vice-Chairman of the Japan?U.S. Friendship Commission and the U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Exchange (CULCON)
1986 - 91
Visiting Professor, The University of California at Santa Barbara
1996 -
Professor, Department of Politics, Pomona College

Awards Received

1976
The Order of the Rising Sun, Third Class
1979
The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Second Class

Major Publications

Five Gentlemen of Japan. New York: Farrar, Straus & Young, 1953 (Japanese translation: Tokyo: Mainichi Shinbun-sha, 1953).
Fragile Super Power: Japan. New York: Norton, 1975 (Japanese translation: Tokyo: Simul Press, 1995).
The Pacific Century. New York: Scribner's, 1992 (Japanese translation: Tokyo: Kodansha, 1992).

The Japan Foundation Awards

Phot of Wolfgang Sawallisch

Wolfgang Sawallisch
Conductor, Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra
Honorary Conductor Laureate of the NHK Symphony Orchestra

  Professor Sawallisch has led the NHK Symphony Orchestra for many years as its honorary conductor, and also conducted numerous distinguished orchestras and operas from Europe and the United States on their performances in Japan, and thus has greatly contributed to the promotion and understanding of Western music in Japan.

Brief Personal History

1953
General Music Director at the Theater of Aachen
1958
General Music Director at the Theater of Wiesbaden
1960
General Music Director at the State Theater of Cologne
1960-70
General Music Director at Humburg,
Principal Conductor of the Philharmonic State Symphony Orchestra of Hamburg
Principal Conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
1964
First appearance with the NHK Symphony Orchestra
1967
Honorary Conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra
1972-80
Artistic Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
1971-92
General Music Director and the Director of the Bavarian State Opera
1993-
Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra
1994
Honorary Conductor Laureate of the NHK Symphony Orchestra

Professor Sawallisch regulary conducts nearly all of the world's major orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, and the Orchestre National de France, and many of the orchestras of the major opera houses, such as La Scala of Milan and the Cologne Opera. He has also made guest appearances at many music festivals in such places around the world as Bayreuth, Salzburg, Edinburgh, Prague, and Lucerne.
In Japan, in adition to conducting the NHK Symphony Orchestra almost every year since his first appearance with the orchestra in 1964, he has led the many major orchestras and operas from overseas including the Philadelphia Orchestra, of which he is the Music Director.

Awards Received

1983
NHK Broadcasting Culture Award
1986
The Order of the Rising Sun, Third Class
1994
Special Prize, The 25th Suntory Music Award

The Japan Foundation Special Prizes

Phot of Ahmet Mete Tuncoku

Ahmet Mete Tuncoku Professor, Middle East Technical University
  As one of the most distinguished scholars of Japanese studies in Turkey, Dr. Tuncoku has devoted himself to the in-depth study of Japanese culture and history and also to the nurturing of young scholars, for more than thirty years. He has also made great contributions to the founding of Japanese-language courses at Turkish universities and to the promotion of cultural exchange between Turkey and Japan.

Brief Personal History

1969
Graduated from Ankara University (B.A. in International Relations)
1973
Graduated from Kyoto University (M.A. in Law)
1978
Graduated from Kyoto University (Ph.D. in Law)
1978-79
Instructor, Dept. of Political Science and Public Administration, Middle East Technical University (M.E.T.U.)
1979-85
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Political Science and Public Administration, M.E.T.U
1985-86
Associate Professor & Vice-Chairman, Dept. of International Relations, M.E.T.U
1986-87
Visiting Professor, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
1987-92
Chairman, Dept. of International Relations, M.E.T.U
1990-
Professor, Dept. of International Relations, M.E.T.U
1992-93
Founding Rector, Canakkale University
1992-98
Board of Governors of the Turko-Japanese Foundation Founding President and Member of Turkish-Japanese University Alumni Association
1993-98
Professor, Dept. of International Relations, M.E.T.U
1998-99
Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Human & Environmental Studies, Kyoto University

Major Publications

Yeni Baslayanlar Icin Japonca [Japanese for Beginners: Translation]. Ankara: Ozguzelisler Matbuasi, 1986.
Turkce Konusanlar Icin Japonca Dilbilgisi [Japanese Grammar for Turkish-Speaking People]. Tokyo: Biblio Publications, 1989 (with T. Hayashi).
Modernization in Japan and Turkey: The Role of Foreign Advisors. Tokyo: Simul Press, 1996 (in Japanese),The Turkish Soldiers in the Words of the ANZACs. Ankara: Ataturk Research Institute, 1997.

The Japan Foundation Special Prizes

Photo of Tadashi Yamamoto

Tadashi Yamamoto
President, Japan Center for International Exchange
Mr. Yamamoto has successfully led numerous international exchange programs between Japan and the United States, Europe, and Asian countries for more than three decades. His leadership has made great contributions to the promotion of mutual understanding and intellectual dialogue among various groups of people, including youth, women, journalists, scholars, business and NGO leaders, and politicians.

Brief Personal History

1960
Graduated from St. Norbert College, West De Pere, Wisconsin (B.A.)
1962
Graduated from Marguette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (M.B.A.)
1970
Established Japan Center for International Exchange
1973
Representative Director, Japan Center for International Exchange
1973-
Japan Director and Member, The Trilateral Commission
1976-
President, Japan Center for International Exchange, Inc./USA
1985-
President, Japan Center for International Exchange
1985-
Member and Director, The UK-Japan 2000 Group (Renamed in 1999: The UK-Japan 21st Century Group)
1988-89
Member , Prime Minister Takeshita's Private Council on International Cultural Exchange
1989-91
Member and Director, The Korea-Japan 21st Century Committee
1993-
Member and Director, The Japanese-German Dialogue Forum
1993-94
Member, Prime Minister Hosokawa's Advisory Group on International Cultural Exchange
1993-
Member and Director, The Japan-Korea Forum
1997-
Member, Japan-Korea Committee to Promote Cooperation on Historical Studies
1999-
Member and Director, The Prime Minister's Commission on "Japan's Goals in the 21st Century"

Awards Received

1990
The Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit from the German Government
1994
The Foreign Minister's Commendations
1998
The Honourable Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire

Major Publications

Emerging Civil Society in the Asia Pacific Community. Tokyo: Japan Center for International Exchange and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1995 (Masayoshi Ohira Award, 1996).
The Nonprofit Sector in Japan. Manchester (U.K.): Manchester University Press, 1998.
Deciding the Public Good: Governance and Civil Society in Japan. Tokyo: Japan Center for International Exchange, 1999.

The Japan Foundation Special Prizes

Photo ofJapanese American National

Japanese American National Museum (http://www.janm.org)
Through its unique and thoughtful exhibitions and research projects, the Japanese American National Museum has raised public awareness of the history and culture of Americans of Japanese ancestry, and has made great contributions toward the promotion of dialogue on ethnic issues and an appreciation of cultural diversity in the United States and worldwide.

Brief History

1985
Incorporated as a private nonprofit institution in Los Angeles
1986
Received grants of $75,000 from the State of California and $1 million from the City of Los Angeles, and started construction on the site of a former Buddhist temple in the Little Tokyo region of Los Angeles.
1990
Initiated the National Educational Outreach Project
1992
Opened the doors to its historic Phase-I Building
Organized the 1st Japanese-American National Conference
Organized the exhibition "The View from Within: Japanese-American Art from the Internment Camps, 1942-1945"
1993
Organized the 2nd Japanese-American National Conference
Organized the exhibition "In This Great Land of Freedon: The Japanese Pioneers of Oregon"
1994
Organized the International Japanese-American Symposium
Japan Tour of "The View from Within" exhibition
1995
Opened the National Resource Center, and began Internet service Sponsored the "National Salute to Japanese-American Veterans" with the Departments of Defence and of Veterans Affairs
1996
rganized the exhibition "The Kona Coffee Story: Along the Hawai'i Belt Road" (Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, and Honolulu)
1997
Organized the exhibition "From Bento to Fixed Plate: Americans of Japanese Ancestry in Multicultural Hawai'i" in Honolulu; Los Angeles; and Washington, D.C.
1998
Organized the exhibition "America's Concentration Camps: Remembering the Japanese American Experience" in New York City
1999
Opened the New Pavilion (Phase-II Building)

Mission and Programs

  Under the mission statement of "Make known the Japanese-American experience as an integral part of our nation's [American] heritage to improve understanding and appreciation for America's ethnic and cultural diversity," the Museum aims to build brigdes between Japanese-Americans and Americans of all other ethnicities, between Japanese-Americans and Japanese, and also between the peoples of Japan and the U.S. The Museum owns the world most extensive collection on Japanese-American history and culture, including more than 20,000 objects, 40,000 photographs, and 150,000 feet of film, and, in addition to its exhibitions and public programs, it organizes touring exhibition, lectures, and educational programs around the U.S.

What We Do