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The Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has decided to award the prestigious International Maritime Prize for 2014 to Mr. Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of the Nippon Foundation, for his contribution to the work of IMO over many years and, in particular, his personal commitment to supporting the development of future maritime leaders and his contribution to the enhancement of safety and security in vital shipping lanes.
In particular, the Council noted Mr. Sasakawa’s long-standing dedication to maritime education and training through the initiatives of the Nippon Foundation and its unstinting support to the World Maritime University (WMU), based in Malmö, Sweden and the IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) in Malta.
Mr. Sasakawa was born in Tokyo, Japan, and joined the Nippon Foundation as a trustee in 1981. He served as President from 1989 and became Chairman on 1 July 2005. The Nippon Foundation is a private, non-profit foundation whose mission, through social innovation, is to achieve a society where all people support one another. Its overall objectives include assistance for humanitarian activities, both in Japan and overseas, and global maritime development.
Support for maritime education and training
In nominating his candidature for the International Maritime Prize, the Government of Japan drew attention to Mr. Sasakawa’s leadership of the Nippon Foundation’s efforts to improve the quality of maritime experts around the world by supporting the WMU. Since 1987, the “WMU Sasakawa Fellowship”, sponsored by the Nippon Foundation, has offered a two-year Master’s degree programme. Mr. Sasakawa has personally devoted himself to establishing the Sasakawa Fellows’ network, now numbering 543 people from 64 countries, to facilitate international maritime cooperation.
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