Last week, former United Nation University (UNU) Senior Vice-Rector Takashi Inoguchi was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure for his contributions to the fields of education and research.
Takashi Inoguchi, born in 1944 in Niigata Prefecture, is a leading authority in political science, foreign affairs, and education in Japan. He held the position of UNU Senior Vice-Rector, with the rank of UN Assistant-Secretary-General, from 1995 through 1997.
Over a career of nearly five decades, Prof. Inoguchi taught generations of students, notably as a Professor at Sophia University, the University of Tokyo, and Chuo University. He served from 2009 ‒2017 as President of Niigata Prefectural University and currently is Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo. Prof. Inoguchi has published more than 100 books in both Japanese and English, as well as hundreds of papers and journal articles.
Prof. Inoguchi received his award, the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, from the Japanese Prime Minister during a ceremony held in Tokyo on 8 November. This Order, one of the nation’s highest honours, is bestowed upon individuals with significant accomplishments in fields such as public service, academia, arts and culture.
"On behalf of the United Nations University, I wish to express our sincere congratulations to Prof. Takashi Inoguchi on this honour”, said UNU Rector Tshilidzi Marwala. “The contributions that he has made to Japanese society, and made during his two years as Senior Vice-Rector, are invaluable.”
