Foreign Minister’s Commendations for FY 2015

　 The Foreign Minister’s Commendations are awarded to individuals and groups with outstanding achievements in international fields, to acknowledge their contributions to the promotion of friendship between Japan and other countries.
　 This year, the Commendations will be awarded to 116 individuals and 39 groups, including Mr. TEN Shinichi, former Associate Professor of Kyiv National Linguistic University (Kyiv, Ukraine) and the Foundation for Moldovan-Japanese Relations (Chisinau, Republic of Moldova).
　 Foreign Minister’s Commendations for FY 2015

Mr. TEN Shinichi began teaching the Japanese language at Kyiv National Linguistic University in 1991 soon after Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union. In spite of financial difficulties and lack of necessary materials throughout the country, he provided major contributions in laying a foundation for Japanese language education in independent Ukraine. Throughout his career of more than twenty years Mr. TEN trained many students and young specialists. In 1993 he established the All-Ukrainian Japanese Language Teachers’ Association and served as head of the organization for more than five years. He devoted himself to developing Japanese language education and Japanese speech contests within Ukraine.

The Foundation for Moldovan-Japanese Relations is a non-profit organization that was established year 2003 in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. In 2004 a Japanese language course was opened by the Foundation and the following year Japanese speech contests, the Foundation has been actively promoting Japanese culture. In Moldova the official Japanese language major is not held at higher educational institutions, and for the time being the Embassy of Japan is not yet established. Under such a condition the Foundation has made an outstanding contribution to promote and develop the Japanese language and culture in Moldova.