Foreign Minister’s Commendation - Mr. Michael F. Swiek

On August 16, 2023 (Japan Time), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan announced the recipients of the Foreign Minister’s Commendations for FY 2023. Mr. Michael F. Swiek is among this year’s foreign recipients. He will receive a Commendation in recognition of his contributions to the promotion of space cooperation between Japan and the United States of America.

Mr. Swiek has long been a leading voice in the United States for the Global Positioning System (GPS) industry and has assisted in developing far-reaching policies which impact export controls, market access and other regulatory and policy areas. He served as the United States representative to expert meetings in this field and coordinated dialogues between Japan and the United States since the early 1990’s. In addition, Mr. Swiek was instrumental in achieving interoperability between the United States and Japan’s positioning systems. As an expert on strategic space policy and other issues in the United States, he has emphasized the importance of the United States and Japan’s space cooperation on various occasions and most importantly served as a bridge between the United States and Japan by building a human network in the space field. This undertaking has helped facilitate technical cooperation and constructive policy coordination 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.