The Japan Foundation Awards / Special Prizes (2000) Ceremony and Reception

Phot of THE 2000 CEREMONY

On October 5th, at a hotel in Tokyo, the awards ceremony was held for the presentation of The Japan Foundation Awards and Prizes for 2000. More than 350 people attended the Ceremony and Reception, which were held with great success.
The ceremony began with a greeting by President Fujii. Hayao Kawai, Chairman of the selection committee and Head of the International Japanese Culture Research Center, then by introduced the awardees and explained why they were chosen. Then the award certificates and subsidiary prizes were presented to the awardees by President Fujii. In their acceptance speeches, the awardees explained their involvement with Japan and their thoughts on international exchange. Following the ceremony, all those present moved to another room where a reception was carried out in a friendly atmosphere, during which the awardees enjoyed chatting on the subject of international exchange with friends and people involved in the field.

Introduction of the Recipients

The mass media also showed a great interest in Japanese-Korean relations, surrounding such recent happenings as the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Kim Dae Jung and the lifting of the ban on Japanese culture in Korea. A vigorous exchange of opinions was exchanged on these subjects between the awardees and the numerous journalists who were in attendance, and a great deal of attention was attracted, with a special section dedicated to the event on CNN News.
Hayao Kawai
Chairman of the selection committee and
Head of the International Japanese
Culture Research Center.

Speach of Acceptance

The Japan Foundation Award	Chi Myon Kwan Director, Institute of Japanese Studies, The Hallym Academy of Sciences, Hallym University
The Japan Foundation Award	Yoneo Ishii President, Kanda University of International Studies
The Japan Foundation Special Prize	Willy F. Vande Walle Department Chair Section of Japanese Studies, Department of Oriental and Slavonic Studies, The Catholic University of Leuven
	Nissim Tal Director General The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, Haifa Museums
	Yuzo Kondo Chairman of the Daido Life Foundation

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