Holding of the “50th Anniversary Ceremony ofthe ITU Association of Japan”

The ITU Association of Japan (ITU-AJ)

Planning Department

The “50th Anniversary Ceremony of The ITU Associationof Japan” was held online on September 1, 2021. This ceremony,consisting of an opening address and congratulatory message,
presentation of awards, and a panel discussion, drew about 280
participants.
The ceremony began with a short video presentation titled “50Years of The ITU Association of Japan” introducing memorable
images since 1971, the year of the founding of ITU-AJ.
This was followed by an opening address delivered by Tetsuo
YAMAKAWA, President of the ITU Association of Japan.
Then, State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications
Masayoshi SHINTANI gave a congratulatory message on theachievements in the past 50 years and future expectations of theassociation and its supporting members that have contributed tothe development of information and communications.
Hideyuki TOKUDA, Chairman of ITU-AJ Award Selection
Board, then reported on the selection of winners for the MIC
Minister’s Award, ITU-AJ 50th Anniversary Honor Award,
Special Award, and Commemorative Award, and ITU-AJ Special
Achievement Award.
Presentation of the MIC Minister’s Award and ITU-AJ
awards to award winners then began. The MIC Minister’s Awardand ITU-AJ 50th Anniversary Honor Award were presentedto Mr. Yoshio UTSUMI, who served as Chairman of the ITU
Plenipotentiary Conference in 1994 (Kyoto). He was appointed
Secretary-General of the ITU in 1998 and demonstrated
outstanding leadership for two terms (8 years) until 2006.
In addition, the MIC Minister’s Award and ITU-AJ 50th
Anniversary Special Award were presented to Dr. Yasuhiko
ITO, Dr. Akira HASHIMOTO, and Mr. Makoto MIURA,
who, as members or chairmen of the International Frequency
Registration Board (IFRB) and Radio Regulations Board (RRB),
were actively involved as representatives of Japan in resolving
international frequency-related issues. Following this, the ITUAJ 50th Anniversary Commemorative Award was presented to11 individuals and ITU-AJ Special Achievement Award waspresented to 3 individuals.
The commemorative photo for the ceremony featured Mr.
Houlin ZHAO, Secretary-General of ITU, Mr. Masanori
KONDO, Secretary-General of Asia-Pacific Telecommunity,
Mr. Yasuo TAWARA, Director-General of Global Strategy
Bureau, MIC, and the award winners, each of which was taken
while communicating over the screen—a scene that could only be
captured online.
The second half of the ceremony was devoted to a panel

discussion with Mr. Houlin ZHAO, Secretary-General of ITU,Mr. Masanori KONDO, Secretary General of Asia-PacificTelecommunity, and Mr. Yasuo TAWARA, Director-General of
Global Strategy Bureau, MIC under the theme of “International
Standardization Activities; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow—
Expectation and Future for the ITU Association of Japan—.”Moderated by ITU-AJ President Tetsuo YAMAKAWA, this
discussion featured a lively exchange of opinions including theshared belief that “the field of ICT is going through severechanges, which makes the standardization of technology all themore important in such an era.”
Through this ceremony, it was deeply moving to learn again
about the operations of ITU-AJ up to the present thanks to theefforts of many people, and for this we are sincerely grateful.
Under the slogan of “Towards the Next 50 Years!” the mission of■ Mr. Yoshio UTSUMI, winner of the MIC Minister’s Awardand ITU-AJ 50th Anniversary Honor Award■ Dr. Yasuhiko ITO, Dr. Akira HASHIMOTO, and Mr. Makoto
MIURA, winners of the MIC Minister’s Award and ITU-AJ
50th Anniversary Special Award

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■ Commemorative photo of award winners■ Panel discussion

ITU-AJ is to serve its members in the upcoming era by joining
forces and working together one step at a time. We look forward to
our members’ ongoing support.

Information on this ceremony is provided on the ITU-AJ
website, so please take a look.
https://www.ituaj.jp/?page_id=25499

List of Award Winners(Affiliation is at time of recommendation)

MIC Minister’s Award
Yoshio UTSUMIFormer Secretary-General ofInternational Telecommunication
Union
Yasuhiko ITOFormer KDDI
Akira HASHIMOTONTT DOCOMO
Makoto MIURA
Former International
Telecommunication Union
ITU-AJ 50th Anniversary Honor Award

ITU-AJ Special Achievement Award
Satoshi OYAMA
Association of Radio Industries
and Businesses
Hachihei KUREMATSU
BHN Association
Takao SHIMIZUTokyo Broadcasting System
Television, Inc.

Yoshio UTSUMIFormer Secretary-General ofInternational Telecommunication
Union
ITU-AJ 50th Anniversary Special Award
Yasuhiko ITOAkira HASHIMOTO
Makoto MIURA

Former KDDINTT DOCOMO
Former International
Telecommunication Union
ITU-AJ 50th Anniversary Commemorative Award
Koichi ASATANI
Kogakuin University
Yuji INOUE
Know et Nova Co., Ltd.
Seizo ONOE
DOCOMO Technology, Inc.
Sadahiko KANOBHN Association
Yasuhiko KAWASUMI
Seisa University
Kohei SATOH
National Institute of Information
and Communications
Technology
Hiroyasu SONOKIFormer Asia-PacificTelecommunity
Yukihiro NISHIDA
Japan Broadcasting Corporation
Tsunekazu MATSUDAIRA Centre for International Capacity
Building
Kazuo MURANO
Former Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.
Toshiyuki YAMADAFormer Asia-PacificTelecommunity

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Cover Art

Fifty-three Stations on the Tokaido:
Rokugo Ferry at Kawasaki.
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797~1858)
Collection of the Art Research Center (ARC)
Ritsumeikan University
Object number: BN03828992-1-03