By TOMOKI TAJIMA/ Staff Writer
October 25, 2024 at 18:34 JST
"Ashita no Joe" (Tomorrow's Joe) manga artist Tetsuya Chiba in 2019 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
A manga artist and a classical musician made history after the government announced seven individuals selected for the Order of Culture on Oct. 25.
Cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, 82, is the first Western musician to receive the honor alongside the creator of the iconic boxing manga "Ashita no Joe" (Tomorrow's Joe), 85-year-old Tetsuya Chiba.
The other recipients hail from an array of fields. Kenjiro Egashira, 77, is a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and an expert on commercial law.
Nobutaka Hirokawa, 78, is another professor emeritus at the university with a focus in cellular and molecular biology.
Acclaimed poet Mutsuo Takahashi, 86, is known for penning haiku and tanka poems while fellow 86-year-old Junko Nakanishi specializes in environmental risk management as a professor emeritus at Yokohama National University.
Japanese-style painter Toshio Tabuchi, 83, rounds out those selected.
The government also named 20 people as a Person of Cultural Merit, with the most women ever awarded at six.
Professional golfer Isao Aoki, 82, and actress Mitsuko Kusabue, 91, are among awardees.
The ceremony for the Order of Culture will be held at the Imperial Palace on Nov. 3 with Person of Cultural Merit ceremony to follow at the Okura Tokyo hotel on Nov. 5.
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