I take this opportunity to convey my sincere appreciation of the efforts over the last thirty years of the Fukuoka Prize Committee to encourage and promote intellectual and artistic work in different countries of Asia.

There are few comparable institutions that have done so much to bring to the attention of people in Japan as well as in all of Asia the wide range of work by artists, scholars, musicians and performers in the field of culture. In a world beset by much conflict and misery, the Fukuoka Prize reminds everyone of our deep and closely related cultural memories and holds out the promise of a better future.