In 2014, Ambassador Keiichi Hayashi presented Certificates of Commendation to Mr Crispin Chambers, Japan400 and the Metropolitan Police Driving School. The Ambassador's Commendation is bestowed on those individuals or groups who have made outstanding contributions towards friendship and mutual understanding between Japan and the UK.

Crispin Chambers

On 7 March 2014, Mr Crispin Chambers was awarded the Ambassador’s Commendation for his distinguished contribution to friendship and mutual understanding between Japan and the United Kingdom as a Japanese language teacher at Tavistock College.  

In 1986 Mr Chambers went to Japan to teach English in the British English Teachers scheme, the precursor to the JET Programme. After two years in Awajishima, Hyogo prefecture, he spent a year in Tokyo as Programme Coordinator for the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR), where his duties involved the JET Programme. After coming back to the UK, in 1996 Mr Chambers began a stellar career at Tavistock College as a Japanese language teacher, since when over 4,000 students have benefited from his expertise. On top of his regular teaching duties, in 2002 Mr Chambers helped to set up an exchange programme between Tavistock College and the Edogawa district of Tokyo, in which over 440 students have so far participated. 

On Sunday 20 October 2013, Mr Chambers was deservedly named the Pearson Teaching Awards “Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School” for his role as a Japanese language teacher at Tavistock College in contributing to cultural exchange between the UK and other countries and to foreign language teaching in British schools. This is the first time a teacher of Japanese has received this prestigious award.

When the Commendation was conferred on him, he declared how privileged and honoured he felt and expressed the hope that many more young British people would develop an interest in studying the Japanese language learning about Japan.

Japan400

On 9 April 2014, Ambassador Hayashi presented Japan400 with a Certificate of Commendation for its tremendous contribution to the further promotion of mutual understanding between the peoples of Japan and the UK with the magnificent series of events it organized to commemorate the passage of 400 years since the arrival of The Clove in Hirado.     

Captain John Saris was dispatched by King James I to seek trade, and succeeded in opening formal contacts with Japan when the Tokugawa Shogunate conferred on him a Shuinjo, or “red-sealed letter”, granting his countrymen permission to live and trade throughout Japan.  He would be really astonished to see how his first adventurous step hugely developed relations between Japan and the UK over the ensuing 400 years, not only in the commercial area but also in all other fields including culture, science, technology and lifestyle. This landmark moment in history was celebrated in 2013 at nearly two hundred and fifty events covering almost every area of our bilateral interaction and reached new audiences far and wide at different levels, in both countries.

Some of the programmes were truly comprehensive, such as “Voyage through Words and Music” held on 11 June, 2013 at All Saints Parish Church in Fulham, where Captain Saris rests. Local school pupils gathered to enjoy Japanese folk music and dancing, and some families from the local community also attended.  The impressive scale of this event, which showcased the power of Japanese culture, would not have been possible without the skill and energy of the organiser, Japan400.

Although Japan400 may have been initiated by a relatively small group of Japanophiles, their determination was supported by so many people who have good will toward Japan, and they received funding from more than 20 Japanese and British companies.  The venture developed a momentum of its own and became a symbol of the amicable ties between our two countries and of the many friendships between Japanese and British people.

The Metropolitan Police Driving School

On 28 June 2014, the Metropolitan Police Driving School was commended for its contribution to the improvement in safety and driving techniques of the Japanese Motorcycle Police by providing them with outstanding training for over forty years.

The Japanese Emperor Showa’s visit to the United Kingdom in 1971 marked the beginning of this long relationship as the Emperor seemed impressed with the techniques used by the MET police special motorcycle escort group. This relationship of the MET police and the Japanese police is one of the longest relationships relating to a single, specific matter in the history of the Japanese police service. It has fostered strong friendship and mutual understanding. The MET police officers, in their uniforms, drove classic police cars and the ceremony was held in a very happy atmosphere.

Embassy of Japan