20: 2012 Prof. Merry White, is one of America’s most distinguished and most popular Japan scholars. Well known both for her academic publications as well as her popular writings, her teaching includes courses on Japanese society, women in Asia, food and culture, and the anthropology of travel and tourism.
19: 2011 Dr. N. Stuart Harris, Dr. Takashi Shiga and Dr. Kohei Hasegawa, from Mass. General Hospital, who together rushed from Boston to Kesennuma, Miyagi, on March 14 to help victims of earth quakes and tsunami.
18: 2010 Prof. Donald Keene, for lifelong achievements.
17: 2009 Tim Nagaoka, for excellence in teaching Language and Culture to 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students in East Boston, Dorchester.
16: 2008 Tiger Okoshi, Volunteerism at Higashi School for Autism, and Martha Wright, Public Education about the Arts of Japan.
15: 2007 Asian Arts & Culture Program at University of Massachusetts and its Program Director, Ranjana Devi.
14: 2006 John W. Dower, Ford International Professor of History, MIT, for lifetime achievements.
13: 2005 (announced in 2006) Andrew Maske, former curator of Asian Art, Peabody Essex Museum and curator of “Geisha: Beyond the Painted Smile”.
12: 2004 Masataka Hata, President of Shoyeido Incense Company and Makoto Yabe, Ceramic Artist for their lifetime achievements.
11: 2003 The Center for Global Studies Abroad, Norwalk, CT for the dedicated efforts of the Japan program for more than a decade in fostering language studies and person-to-person exchanges between Norwalk and Japan.
10: 2001 Charles Doleac, President of Japan-America Society of New Hampshire for promoting the Portsmouth Peace Treaty.
9: 2000 Patricia Gercik, Managing Director of MIT Japan Program and Kathleen Woods Masalski, Program Director for Five College Center for East Asian Studies at Smith College for lifetime achievements in programming U.S.-Japan relations.
8: 1999 Seiji Ozawa, Music Director, for lifetime achievement.
7: 1998 William Thrasher, Curator, for lifetime achievement.
6: 1997 Sataro Narita, Mayor of Shariki Mura, Aomori, Japan, (Sister city with Bath, Maine), and the Fairhaven/ New Bedford-Tosashimizu Sister City Committee, an all volunteer group that has ensured a continued and expanded relationship between two cities through numerous activities and cultural exchanges.
5: 1996 John Cox, Director of Community Education for Medford Public Schools, for his involvement in the Japanese School in Medford.
4: 1995 Nikki Hu, Choreographer and Guy Van Duser, Musician, for their production of the modern dance “A Thousand Cranes” performed by Boston and Japanese children at Hiroshima Peace Park on the 50th anniversary recognition of the bombing of Hiroshima.
3: 1994 Dr. John Rosenfield, Harvard University Abby Rockefeller Professor of East Asian Art Emeritus for lifetime achievements.
2: 1993 Yori Oda, Children’s Museum Trustee, for lifetime achievements.
1: 1992 Leslie Bedford, former director of the Boston Children’s Museum for the Teen Tokyo exhibit at the Boston Children’s Museum.