Israel’s ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen, has been awarded the Higashi-Kuninomiya International Culture Award (東久邇宮国際文化褒賞) as he nears the end of a five-year posting in Tokyo. The Israeli Embassy in Japan announced the honour on its official channels, presenting it as recognition of Cohen’s work to strengthen Israel-Japan relations since he took up the post in October 2021.
A selective honour#
The Higashi-Kuninomiya International Culture Award is administered by a Tokyo-based foundation set up in 2009 to carry on the wishes of Prince Morihiro Higashikuni, the son of a member of Japan’s imperial family. It recognises individuals — Japanese and foreign — who have made significant contributions to Japan and the wider world in culture, diplomacy, science and other fields. Only a small number of recipients are named each year, and past honourees have included serving foreign envoys, such as a chargé d’affaires of the Georgian Embassy in Tokyo. An award to an Israeli ambassador during a politically sensitive period stands out in the current diplomatic climate, and the embassy framed it as a measure of how far bilateral ties have come.
What changed during Cohen’s term#
For readers in Israel with ties to Japan, several of the developments cited are concrete and practical:
- Direct flights. El Al launched its non-stop Tel Aviv–Tokyo route in March 2023, an initiative the embassy championed. It replaced a multi-stop journey with a single flight of roughly 12 hours and made business, tourism and family travel between the two countries far easier.
- Working-holiday visas. Israel and Japan signed a working-holiday agreement that lets young Israelis aged 18–30 obtain a one-year visa to live, work and study in Japan, with a reciprocal arrangement for young Japanese coming to Israel.
- Expo 2025 Osaka. Israel built a national pavilion at the Osaka world’s fair, which the embassy says drew around 1.8 million visitors and ranked among the exhibition’s more prominent national showcases.
- Economy and security. The embassy points to growing Japanese investment in Israel through the war years, alongside agreements in communications, science and health and expanded academic and technological cooperation.
Cohen’s remarks#
Accepting the award, Cohen said he received it “in humility — not only as a personal recognition, but first and foremost as a tribute to the enduring friendship between Israel and Japan.” He added that the two countries “have grown closer than ever — politically, economically, culturally and scientifically, and above all through the connections between our peoples,” and thanked the embassy team in Tokyo for its work.
Why it matters here#
Japan has become one of the more active corners of Israel’s Asia policy, and the people-to-people channels Cohen highlighted — direct flights, the working-holiday route, cultural exchange and a high-profile presence at Expo Osaka — are precisely the ones that touch the Asia-connected community in Israel and Israelis living in or travelling to Japan. Arriving as Cohen prepares to leave Tokyo, the award reads as much as a marker of that groundwork as a personal tribute.
Sources: Embassy of Israel in Japan · Higashi-Kuninomiya International Culture Award Foundation · The Times of Israel · Algemeiner
