The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Japan, has honored three Indians with the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendations for their efforts and contributions in promoting Japan-India relations.
The annual commendations are awarded by the Japanese Government to selected citizens who play crucial role in promoting the culture of Japan. The awardees for 2024 are Thiruvananthapuram based K Ashok Kumar (director , Institute of Japanese studies), Subramanian Haribabu (president, Shorei-kan Karate do-Asia) and Chilaka Sriramulu Rajagopal, vice president, Tamil Nadu Judo Association.
Haribabu and Rajagopal have been awarded the honor for promoting Japanese culture through martial arts. Ashok Kumar is known for his role in promoting Japanese language in India. Hundreds of students undergo training in Japanese language under his tutelage. His Japanese language teaching has facilitated many students leaving Indian shores for studies in universities in Japan. Thousands of students from Kerala prefer Japan as an education hub and knowledge center thanks to the falling standards of the higher education sector in the State.
Haribabu’s karate and kobudo training has resulted in many youth in India taking up the martial arts in a major way while Rajagopal is instrumental in drawing thousands of students to the martial art of Judo. There are remote villages in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh which organize regular Judo coaching for its youngsters.
According to the Japanese Consulate Centre in Chennai, the awards would be distributed later. Chennai boasts of the largest Japanese community in India and hosts a third of the Japanese companies operating in India.