Japan Confers Order of Culture on 8 People

Tokyo, Nov. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japan conferred the Order of Culture on eight people including Sadaharu Oh, 85, head of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks professional baseball team, on Monday as the country marked Culture Day. In a ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Emperor Naruhito handed the medal to each of the eight, also including Kyoto University distinguished professor Susumu Kitagawa, 74, who won this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and kabuki actor Kataoka Nizaemon XV, 81, whose real name is Takao Kataoka. The remaining five are cardiovascular surgeon Yasunaru Kawashima, 95, folklorist Kazuhiko Komatsu, 78, fashion designer Junko Koshino, 86, whose real name is Junko Suzuki, art critic Nobuo Tsuji, 93, and synthetic organic chemistry expert Hisashi Yamamoto, 82. The Emperor praised the eight for their achievements made through long-term efforts and their dedication to the advancement of culture. At a press conference after the ceremony, Oh said he is “truly honored” to receive the order following baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima, who died in June. Saying that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ World Series victory was wonderful also to Japanese people, Oh expressed his eagerness to make baseball the king of sports in Japan once again. “I believe this honor will really give me a push, so I’ll do my best,” he added. Yamamoto told the same press conference, “I feel that I have finally become a full-fledged researcher.” Meanwhile, Kitagawa said that he is honored to be with Yamamoto, who is a great senior of his in chemistry and also a senior at his university. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]