Since 1973, the Foundation has presented the Japan Foundation Awards to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to promoting international mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and other countries through academic, artistic, and other cultural pursuits.

Prof. Dr. Irmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit is a researcher in Japanese literature, a literary critic and a translator representing not only Germany but all of Europe. She has greatly contributed to improving an understanding of Japanese culture and society through her considerable achievements during her research career spanning more than 50 years, including analyzing and interpreting the modern Japanese literary works of Mishima Yukio and other authors and examining unique Japanese literary forms such as autobiographical novels and journals. She has also worked to educate many young students at the Free University of Berlin’s Institute of Japanese Studies for many years, and has greatly promoted mutual understanding between Japan and both Germany and Europe by steadfastly developing an international academic network.

The award ceremony took place on October 20 in Tokyo. However, since this year a trip of the laureate to Japan was unfortunately not possible due to COVID-19, she participated online. The award ceremony as well as the ceremonial lecture on December 3, 2021 at the Japan Cultural Institute Cologne of the Japan Foundation had to be cancelled due to the current situation.