Order of Culture and Person of Cultural Merit Recipients Announced

On October 27, the Japanese government announced seven recipients of the Order of Culture and seventeen recipients of the Person of Cultural Merit for the fiscal year 2009. In relation to art, nihonga artist IWASAWA Shigeo (81, for presenting numerous outstanding works at the Nitten and serving as a Nitten committee, thereby contributing to the development of the art world) and contemporary artist KUSAMA Yayoi (80, for creating original and outstanding works and achieving international recognition) were selected as recipients of the Person of Cultural Merit. (Japanese)