Continuing to report in difficult situations 
　I dedicate this award to fellow journalists

This is an incredibly proud moment for me to receive and accept the Fukuoka Grand Prize, one of the most prestigious awards that I know of. For me, it is a vindication of the social role that journalism can and ought to play.

At a time in the COVID-19 pandemic when the public have needed journalism more than ever before, but the media have served the public less than ever before. Tens of thousands of journalists and non-journalist media workers have been laid off by commercial media houses who, as always, prize profits above people. In the absence of rigorous and systematic media coverage of what is happening to the health and livelihoods of the less privileged sections of society, rumor and misinformation ruled the world. So, when an award like the Fukuoka Grand Prize is given to someone like me, I see that as a vindication of a journalism that serves people, not shareholders; communities, not corporations.

I will truly treasure this award. I am happy to accept and dedicate this award to fellow journalists fighting immense odds to report on and help millions of the rural, marginalized, devastated by the pandemic, whose stories need to be told. Particularly, I dedicate it to my colleagues at the 'People’s Archive of Rural India'(PARI) who continued to report from the ground on the migrants, the workers, the farmers, the landless, the artists and the artisans, the fisherfold and the destitute. In a world witnessing the retreat of the rural everywhere, they give me hope.

My sincere thanks to the people and City of Fukuoka for this great honor.
Thank you.

 　Fascinated by the world of history 
　Hoping for the historical research conducted for years will be useful in the future

I am quite surprised and honored to receive this prestigious award with two distinguished laureates. I’d like to express my heartfelt gratitude and respect to everyone who has helped establish and nurture such a significant award in Fukuoka, an area that has had a deep relationship with Asia since ancient times, and to the citizens of Fukuoka who support the award. 

Since childhood, I have been fascinated by the dynamic nature of Chinese culture and history. This fascination led me to the study of Chinese history, quite naturally. But I didn’ t have any big vision for my studies; I was just fascinated and excited about feeling close to the anxiety and the whole joy and sorrow of ordinary people who lived in the period of great changes several hundred years ago. That helped me continue my studies steadily. Throughout my academic life, I have had the opportunity to meet new colleagues from all over the world as well as researchers in various fields of Japanese and Western history, humanities and social sciences. I have gradually come to realize that what I have been studying has lead to unexpectedly large horizons and the person who I am today.

Compared to the people who lived during the 16th and 17th centuries, today we have a much broader knowledge of foreign society and cultures. However, we are still scrambling for the future with a sense of anxiety and hope at a time of great change where the future is unknown.

I hope that my historical research, which traces the experiences of human society, will be of some help in this regard. Thank you very much indeed.

　Sending encouragement and hope to the young people with imagination

I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for giving me the Fukuoka Arts and Culture Prize. I am deeply honored and grateful for the recognition of my work and for making me think that I may have done right over the years. None of this would have been possible without the support of so many people who have found some value in my work. I owe this to every person who has let my work engage with their minds. I am also deeply honored and pleased to share this event with Professor Kishimoto and Mr. Sainath, who are much more distinguished than myself. A special thanks to my loving and supportive family also.

When I became interested in the arts as a child, the world around me seemed to be against creativity. I was made to feel bad to like to draw, to watch movies, to read fiction and comic books. In those days, it meant more than anything to have an adult or two who assured me that there was value in imagination. I will never forget the teachers who told me I had talent, that I would make a good artist. In a real sense, I am here today because of those adults who gave me hope. Because of that personal experience it has always been important for me that my work speaks especially to the young, that I can somehow provide hope to the troubled or doubtful young minds.　

I would therefore like to dedicate this prize to the young people in my country, in Japan, and everywhere in the world. Imagination is the blueprint of reality. I have found this to be true. I would like to send my encouragement to the young people and ask them not to give up the  imagination of a better future. There is hope.

What inspired you to decide to work in journalism after studying history?
Mr. Sainath : I think the study of history is one of the most essential elements that went into who I am and the kind of journalism I still practice. So many of the great leaders of India’s freedom struggle doubled up as journalists, including Gandhi. The freedom struggle and our press are so closely intertwined, it seemed entirely logical to me to proceed from a Master’s in History into journalism.

Could you please tell us about the activities and the role of PARI?
Mr. Sainath : Well, everywhere in the world the rural is in retreat. In India, 69% of the population lives in rural areas, yet national daily newspapers give that huge majority 0.67% of their front-page news. Consequently, generations of young Indians are growing up as foreigners in their own country. PARI exists to meet and contend with this challenge. PARI is at once a journalism website and a living, breathing archive covering everything rural. We are reconnecting students in schools, people in urban areas, to their rural roots.

What is the driving force behind all your work?
Mr. Sainath : In this, our 75th year of independence, it is tragic how many of us are unaware that the greatest battles for India’s independence and freedom were waged in the countryside. Rural India was the greatest source of resistance to colonialism. The values of our freedom struggle and my need to connect with people and their aspirations constitute that major driving force in my life.

What is it about Chinese culture and history that you found so fascinating?
Prof. Kishimoto : Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by Chinese writing, in which each Chinese character appeals to the senses and is formed into a single sentence with a powerful rhythm.
I am also fascinated by the people with strong personalities who appear in the ancient Chinese history book called the 'Records of the Grand Historian' for example, and how they clash and connect with each other to create history in the wide world.

Why have you focused your research on the ordinary people instead of on emperors and heroes?
Prof. Kishimoto : I thought I could relate more to the ordinary people and their feelings such as hope and anxiety. I wanted to try to express in my own words how, in the highly fluid Chinese society, each and every ordinary person was trying hard to live a better life through trial and error, and how their actions come together to eventually move a great deal of history.

What do you think we should learn from history in order to live in this era?
Prof. Kishimoto : I believe that by acquiring a certain knowledge and sense of the diverse ways of the world in the past, our choices in the future will be stable and more balanced. History is like a map created by past human experiences; I believe that knowing where we are on that map will help us make better choices in the future.

Could you share with us what kind of hope in particular you received from the adults mentioned in your speech?
Mr. Prabda : When I was about 10 years old, I had a drawing class. And I made a drawing, but I used unusual colors for the sky and for the grass, for the trees, etcetera. My art teacher showed the picture to the class as an example of a work that’s done with creativity. And that was a very memorable day for me because it encouraged me to explore creativity more.

Do you have any driving force in order to work in various fields regardless of genre?
Mr. Prabda : I am generally curious about everything that has to do with creativity. The force is basically an urge to create, to experience something apart from daily life routines, to give existence, something that was not there before. So I think it’s a very human urge.

Could you please share your ideas on what current and future roles artistic and creative activities can play?
Mr. Prabda : As I said in my speech, I think art can provide hope. It’s a very important time for something like this. Art can be used as a guide to pull us out from the pit of despair.