Award of the “Ambassador’s Commendation”

On December 10th, an awarding ceremony of the Ambassador‘s Commendation was held at the Ambassador’s residence. The following three persons were awarded the commendations for their valuable contribution to promoting friendly relations and enhancing economic and cultural exchanges between Japan and Belgium.

1.     Mr. Tanguy VAN OVERSTRAETEN (Partner at Linklaters LLP, Vice President of Belgium-Japan Association & Chamber of Commerce (BJA). Mr. VAN OVERSTRAETEN has contributed to promoting economic relations through working on legal issues related to Japan’s and Belgium’s investment for more than 20 years, particularly by establishing and managing the Legal and Tax Committee at BJA.
2.     Prof. Andreas THELE (Director of Japanese Studies Centre, University of Liège). Prof. THELE has contributed to promoting cultural and academic relations through research and lectures in Japanese Studies for more than 20 years at the University of Liège and through Japanese language education at the University of Mons.
3.     Prof. Dimitri VANOVERBEKE (Professor of Japanese Studies, Catholic University of Leuven). Prof. VANOVERBEKE has contributed to promoting cultural and academic relations through research and lectures in Japanese Studies at Catholic University of Leuven for more than 15 years and through activities in various areas of exchange between Japan and Belgium.