The President of VSUES Gennady Lazarev Was Given the Honorary Award of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan

This is how Japan showed appreciation for the merits of Professor Gennady Lazarev in the development of friendly relations between Japan and Russia.

In July, it was reported that the president of VSUES received such attention from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, and now the award was presented in a solemn ceremony. The certificate of honor, signed by the head of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, was presented by the Consul General of Japan in Vladivostok, Mr. Koichiro Nakamura.

 Mr. Koichiro Nakamura, Consul General of Japan in Vladivostok, made a speech:

«The certificate of honor of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, which we are awarding today to Mr. Lazarev, is awarded to mark the outstanding achievements of individuals and organizations that make a special contribution to the strengthening of friendly relations between Japan and Russia. Gennady Lazarev, being the president of VSUES, leads the society of friendship “Vladivostok-Toyama” which was founded on the basis of VSUES in 2010, and is also the Chairman of “Toyama Friends Club”. Over the years, he has contributed to the development of cultural and economic ties with Toyama Prefecture. Thanks to the efforts of Gennady Innokentyevich, numerous exhibitions and cultural events dedicated to Japan are held in VSUES throughout the year. Every year VSUES provides us with its Museum and Exhibition Complex for the mobile exhibition of the Japanese Foundation, for which I want to express my special gratitude. In addition, the Japanese stone garden named after Yoshio Morimoto, which has another official name – Toyama-Vladivostok friendship garden, can be said to be the only one in the Primorsky krai, which also contributes to the development of friendly relations between Japan and Russia. The stone garden combines all the elements of Japanese traditional landscape art; it is a culture of expressing the special attitude of the Japanese to nature, which is also typical for other types of Japanese art, such as tea ceremony, Ikebana, and calligraphy. I think that the Japanese stone garden, which is located on the territory of a Russian university, not only embodies Japanese art, but also reflects the symbiosis with Russian culture. It should be noted that VSUES contributes to the development of student exchange. Every year, VSUES hosts Japanese students as well as sends its students for training in Japan. Taking into account the numerous merits of Mr. Lazarev, it was decided to present him the honorary award of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan. I will present it on behalf of the Minister. It should be noted that this certificate of honor was issued on July 23 this year, when the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs was held by Mr. Kono Taro, so it bears his signature.»

«On behalf of the Consulate General of Japan, I ask you to continue activities aimed at strengthening friendly relations between Vladivostok and Primorsky Krai with Toyama Prefecture and Japan as a whole.  From 2020 to 2021, the year of the Russian-Japanese interregional and sister exchanges will be held. I would like you, Gennady Innokentyevich, to use this opportunity to further intensify the development of relations between our countries.»

«The establishment of respectful relations is facilitated by a wise, balanced policy. And I will not get tired to emphasize that only joint creative work will allow to achieve the desired result,» Gennady Lazarev added.