［Announcement］Special Webpage Launched: The Japan Foundation Award 50th Anniversary Messages from Previous Awardees

October 16 2023

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Japan Foundation Awards, which were launched in 1973, the year after the establishment of the Japan Foundation (JF). For the past 50 years, JF has presented the Japan Foundation Awards to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to promoting international mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and other countries through academic, artistic, and other cultural pursuits.

In celebrating this milestone year of the 50th anniversary, we have received valuable messages about the significance of international cultural exchange and their expectations for the future from many of the previous award winners and organizations from around the world, including MURAKAMI Haruki (Writer), MIYATA Mayumi (Shō performer), SEN Genshitsu (Grand Master XV, Urasenke Tradition of Tea), and many other prominent cultural figures and exchange organizations in and out of Japan.
(See Past Recipients: https://www.jpf.go.jp/e/about/award/archive/index.html）

image of the Japan Foundation Award 50th Anniversary Messages from Previous AwardeesThese messages, written from the rich perspectives of each awardee, tell us about the award's historical background, dating back to the 1970s, shortly after Osaka Expo '70, the initiatives and efforts of international cultural exchange that have transcended the waves of the times and continued uninterrupted to the present day, the latest activities after going through the COVID-19 pandemic, and expectations for the future, when global challenges are growing more serious with advancing globalization and IT.

In October 2023, JF launched a new special page on its official website where these messages, which are to be released sequentially, can be read in both Japanese and English. We hope that this occasion can become a valuable opportunity to foster and convey once again the meaning of international cultural exchange and its attraction to a wide range of people in Japan and abroad.
So please join, enjoy, and share the inspiring words contained in the messages of awardees!

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Kumakura (Ms.), Harada (Ms.), Public Relations Dept., The Japan Foundation
Tel: +81-(0)3-5369-6075 / Fax: +81-(0)3-5369-6044
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