Tadao Sato [Japan]

Film Critic

Tadao Sato, Japan's leading film critic and pioneer in the field of Asian film studies, has served as a judge for numerous international film festivals, including the Moscow International Film Festival, the Montreal World Film Festival, and the Asia-Pacific Film Festival. His film-related activities have contributed enormously to international cultural exchange, particularly by means of highlighting to film-viewers in Japan and around the world outstanding Asian films that have not garnered much attention. His numerous publications include Watashi wa naze ajia no eiga wo mitsuzukeru ka [Why do I Keep Watching Asian Films?], Chugoku eiga no 100 nen [100 Years of Chinese Films], and Eiga kara mietekuru ajia [Glimpsing Asia Through Film]. He also serves as the president of Japan Academy of Moving Images.

Savitri Vishwanathan [India]

Former Professor of Japanese Studies, University of Delhi

As a teacher and researcher of Japanese language, history, and politics at the University of Delhi, where she headed the Department of Chinese and Japanese Studies, Dr. Vishwanathan has made an immense contribution to the development and promotion of Japanese language education and Japanese studies-both through her academic work and nurturing of next-generation scholars. She has assisted the prime ministers and foreign ministers of India in their official talks with their counterparts in Japan, and was a member of the Japan-India Eminent Person's Group (2000-2002). Her numerous publications include a translation of Shimazaki Toson's novel Hakai into Hindi (Avagna) and into Tamil (Dalit padumpadu). The Japanese government awarded her the Prime Minister's prize in 1967 and the Order of the Precious Crown, Wistaria in 1982.

Ben-Ami Shillony [Israel]

Professor Emeritus of Japanese Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The leading Japanese historian Ben-Ami Shillony is Professor Emeritus of East Asian history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and has also taught and conducted research at such institutions as Harvard University, the University of Oxford, and the University of Tokyo. He has made an immense contribution to the development of Japanese studies and to the promotion of intellectual exchange and mutual understanding between Japan and Israel and other nations. Born in Poland, he immigrated to Israel in 1948, where he has served as chairman of the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace. His numerous publications include Haha naru tenno [The Emperor as a Mother Figure] and The Jews and the Japanese: The Successful Outsiders. In 2000, he was awarded the Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star.