Professor Emeritus Akira Iriye Wins Japan Foundation Award
Every year since 1973, the Japan Foundation 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 nations.
Yotsuya 4-4-1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0004
www.jpf.go.jp
PRESS RELEASE No.950
To all media representatives
Every year since 1973, the Japan Foundation 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. This year
marks the 41st year of the awards and three awardees have been selected for 2013.
The presentation ceremony will be held at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, at Hotel
Okura Tokyo.
◆ Akira Iriye (Professor Emeritus, Harvard University) [Japan]
Born in 1934, Akira Iriye moved to the US in 1953 on scholarship from the Grew
Bancroft Foundation after graduating from Seikei Senior High School. Iriye graduated
from Haverford College in 1957 and received a Ph.D. in History from Harvard
University Graduate School in 1961. He majored in American Diplomatic History. As a
US-based Japanese, Iriye has made significant contributions to his field over a long
period of time. Iriye's approach is characterized by an emphasis on idealogical and
cultural impact and he has proposed international history research that incorporates a
multinational perspective that goes beyond research on the diplomatic history of one
country and two-way interaction. Iriye is recognized as "one of the people who changed
the way we view the diplomatic history of America." Iriye became the first Japanese
citizen to serve as President of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations
and as President of the American Historical Association. Iriye is being presented this
award in recognition of his influence overseas as a Japanese citizen and consequently
becoming a pioneer of Japan-US exchange.
The Japan Foundation was established in 1972 and 2013 marks its 41st year. Each year since 1973, one year after its establishment,
the Japan Foundation has presented Japan Foundation Awards to individuals and organizations that have made outstanding
contributions over a long period and are expected to continue to do so for the enhancement of international understanding and the
promotion of international friendship through academic, artistic and other cultural pursuits. The awardees of the Japan Foundation
Awards last year are: Department of Japanese Language and Civilization, National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations
(INALCO) [France], Haruki Murakami (Writer/Translator) [Japan] and Irene Hirano Inouye, President, U.S.-Japan Council [U.S.A.]
(URL：http://www.jpf.go.jp/e/index.html:)
The Japan Foundation is Japan’s only institution dedicated to carrying out comprehensive international cultural exchange programs
throughout the world. In addition to its Tokyo headquarters, the Japan Foundation has twenty-two offices in twenty-one countries, as
well as two Japanese-language institutes in Japan and a Kyoto Office. With the objective of deepening mutual understanding between
the people of Japan and other countries / regions, our various activities and information services create opportunities for
people-to-people interactions.
General Inquiries: Yokota, Miyata, The Japan Foundation Information Center
TEL: 03-5369-6075 FAX：03-5369-6044 e-mail：kikinsho@jpf.go.jp
Press Inquiries:
Yokota, Tanase, Takano, Japan Public Relations Institute, in charge of public relations for
the Japan Foundation Awards
TEL:03-5368-0911 FAX: 03-5269-2390 e-mail：japanfoundation@japan-pri.jp