JCIE/USA is delighted to share the news that our Senior Fellow and former Executive Director, Jim Gannon, has received the Consul General’s Commendation from H.E. Ambassador Kanji Yamanouchi. The commendation recognized Jim’s contributions to the field of US-Japan exchange, to philanthropic initiatives including in response to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and to the promotion of global health.

A commendation ceremony and a private dinner was hosted by Ambassador Yamanouchi and Mrs. Yamanouchi on February 3, 2022, at the Ambassador’s Residence in New York, where Jim Gannon was joined by his wife Susan Hubbard to receive this honor. The ceremony featured special remarks by JCIE/USA Board Member Dr. Ariel Pablos-Mendez, Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and a toast by JCIE/USA’s former Fellow Dr. Atsuko Y. Geiger. JCIE/USA Executive Director Kazuyo Kato and David Janes, Senior Advisor to the President for Institutional Development at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) and Managing Director of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Foundation in New York, were also in attendance.

The ceremony and dinner, which were both held in strict adherence to COVID-19 related restrictions to limit to a small group, was one of the last events hosted by Ambassador Yamanouchi, who served as Consul-General of Japan in New York from 2018 to February 2022, and was preparing to assume a new post later in the month.