Foreign Minister’s Commendations for FY 2022 - Dr. Leonard J. Schoppa, Jr.

On August 4, 2022 (Japan Time), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan announced the recipients of the Foreign Minister’s Commendations for FY 2022. Dr. Leonard J. Schoppa, Jr. is among this year’s foreign recipients. He receives the commendation in recognition of his contributions to the promotion of mutual understanding between Japan and the United States.

For more than 30 years, Dr. Schoppa has taught at the University of Virginia as an expert in Japanese politics, and has trained younger generations of scholars. He has contributed broadly to people-to-people exchange and the development of human resources between the United States and Japan through his service as a panelist of the United States-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON) and as an advisor for the U.S.-Japan Network for the Future program. Dr. Schoppa has worked to promote intellectual exchange and mutual understanding between the two countries.

Every year, the Foreign Minister’s Commendations are awarded to individuals and groups with outstanding achievements in international fields, in order to acknowledge their contributions to the promotion of friendship between Japan and other countries and areas. The Commendations also aim to promote the understanding and support of the Japanese public for the activities of the recipients.