September 24, 2026
America-Japan Society selects three for aiding nations’ relations
The America-Japan Society announced the recipients of the sixth Kentaro Kaneko Award, presented to people who have made long-standing contributions to friendly U.S.-Japan relations through grassroots activities, on July 23. This year’s recipients are Akiko Kuno, an adviser to the America-Japan Society, and Kozo Kimura, the president of Tokyo Express Co. Musician and philanthropist Yoshiki Hayashi (known simply as Yoshiki) was selected for the Special Award. The award ceremony will be held on Oct. 5 at the International House of Japan in Tokyo’s Minato Ward.
Kentaro Kaneko, after whom the award is named, was the founding president of the AJS. Born in 1853, he traveled to the United States at age 18 and earned a law degree from Harvard University. Even after returning to Japan and becoming a politician, he visited the U.S. repeatedly. Amid the complex international geopolitical climate of the time, he delivered passionate speeches — not only to American politicians with whom he had personal ties but also to influential figures from various fields and the general public, explaining Japan’s just cause in the Russo-Japanese War. His efforts contributed significantly to deepening U.S.-Japan diplomatic relations.
Kaneko is renowned for having won over American public opinion to Japan’s side through these efforts and leveraging his personal friendship with Theodore Roosevelt — his former classmate at Harvard who later became U.S. president — to secure American cooperation, paving the way for the end of the Russo-Japanese War and the Portsmouth Peace Treaty.
This award was established in 2017 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the society and to recognize individuals who, like Kaneko, have contributed to U.S.-Japan relations.
The AJS was founded in 1917 by Japanese and American intellectuals. Currently chaired by Ichiro Fujisaki, a former ambassador to the United States, the society contributes to building and maintaining friendly bilateral ties by hosting various symposia to discuss U.S.-Japan relations and organizing events that promote exchanges between Japan and the U.S.
Currently, there are 27 local America-Japan Societies in Japan and 41 in the U.S., and candidates for the award were nominated primarily through recommendations from members of these organizations. The recipients were subsequently selected by a committee comprising six members from various sectors, including Yuzaburo Mogi, honorary chairman of Kikkoman Inc. and the committee’s chairperson; Shinichi Inoue, senior adviser to ANA Holdings; and Christopher LaFleur, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
Recipient Akiko Kuno was born in Tokyo in 1940. She graduated from the Faculty of Letters at Keio University in 1964. After joining the Society in 1970, she served as executive director and vice president for approximately 40 years, dedicating herself to promoting U.S.-Japan exchanges at the private-sector level. Her key achievements include organizing the Japan-America Societies International Symposium to build networks between societies in both countries, as well as planning and hosting joint events with the Japanese government. She also devoted herself to preserving the archives of the society and making them widely available to the public. In 2012, she co-authored the book “Another History of Japan-US Relations — The 20th Century Observed Via AJS Archives” (Chuo Koron Shinsha).
Kozo Kimura, who received the Kaneko Award upon a recommendation from the Japan-America Society of Northern California, currently resides in the U.S. as a U.S. citizen. Born in Kagoshima in 1940, he graduated from Kokugakuin University. He moved to the U.S. in 1969 and established the logistics company Tokyo Express Co. in 1973. In 1987, he founded the U.S.-Japan Friendship Cup. He has contributed broadly to U.S.-Japan exchanges through donations and establishing funds to promote Japanese-language education, serving as a bridge between Japanese nationals living in America and the Japanese American community, strengthening the activities of the Japan-America Society of Northern California and promoting the sister-city relationship between the Saitama Prefecture city of Hanyu and Millbrae, California.
Yoshiki received the Special Award upon a recommendation by the Japan-America Society of Southern California. He was born in Chiba Prefecture in 1965. Since moving to the United States in 1992, he has been based in the U.S. for about 34 years, leading musical exchanges between Japan and the U.S. while conducting musical activities worldwide. In 1999, he composed and performed the celebratory piano piece “Anniversary” at the national celebration honoring the 10th anniversary of the emperor’s enthronement. He is also actively involved in philanthropic work, including establishing a foundation dedicated to offering support to those in need. He has consistently made donations to victims of major disasters and tragic incidents in both Japan and the U.S. He has also donated to displaced people in Ukraine and neighboring countries as part of emergency relief efforts for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. In 2019, he was selected for the 30 Heroes of Philanthropy list in the Asia-Pacific region by Forbes.
Including this year’s recipients, a total of 14 individuals have received the Kaneko Award, and six have received the Special Award. According to the America-Japan Society, the next award selection process is scheduled to take place in 2028.
