Japan confers “The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays” upon Zafar Mahmood
ADNAN HAMEED working on promoting Soft Image of Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD, FEB 9 (DNPK) - The Government of Japan has conferred the 2020 Autumn Imperial Decorations, “The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays” upon Mr. Zafar Mahmood, visiting Professor at the Department of Japanese Language, National University of Modern Languages (NUML) Islamabad, in recognition of his significant contribution towards the promotion of Japanese language in Pakistan and strengthening friendly relations between Japan and Pakistan.
H.E. MATSUDA
Kuninori, the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, on behalf of the Government of
Japan, on February 9, conferred the imperial decoration “The Order of the Rising
Sun, Gold and Silver Rays” upon Mr. Zafar Mahmood. The conferral ceremony was
held at his official residence with limited participants of family and close
friends of the decoration recipient, while taking infection prevention measures
against COVID-19.
Mr. Zafar Mahmood’s ties with Japan began when he started
his studies in the Nagoya University through a scholarship program offered by
the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of
Japan in 1979. After graduation, he extended his stay for over 10 years working
for NEC. In 2000, he joined the MEXT Alumni Association of Pakistan (MAAP) and
has been working to promote educational exchanges between Japan and Pakistan.
He also assisted the Embassy of Japan select talented Pakistani youth for
future MEXT scholarship students and provided pre-departure sessions for the
selected students.
He also contributed greatly to the promotion of the Japanese
language in Pakistan. As a visiting professor, he taught in the Japanese
Language Department of the National University of Modern Languages. His venture
has now taken more popularity as he has begun conducting the Japanese Language
Capability Test (JLCT) exam in different cities of Pakistan after becoming
Pakistan’s only official agent in 2018. His relentless determination has
already begun to bear fruits as the number of Japanese language learners in
Pakistan is increasing with the passage of time.
Ambassador MATSUDA, while speaking on the occasion,
congratulated Mr. Zafar on receiving this prestigious imperial decoration by
the Government of Japan. He said language plays an important role in bridging
the gap among the nations and the people while fostering mutual understanding
of each other’s culture, values and traditions. “It is heartening to say that
the Japanese language is becoming increasingly popular in Pakistan like Urdu is
in Japan. Surely this would pave the way for further consolidating
people-to-people interactions.”
While appreciating the dedicated efforts by Mr. Zafar, the
Ambassador said that he has been doing a great job over the years by teaching
Japanese language to Pakistani people as a visiting professor at the Japanese
language department of NUML.
He expressed his sincere hope that this contribution will
further promote and strengthen the cultural relations as well as people to
people contacts between the two friendly nations.
While expressing his gratitude upon receiving Japanese
Imperial decoration, Mr. Zafar Mahmood said “I pay my sincere gratitude to His
Majesty the Emperor and the Government of Japan for honoring me with this
prestigious award. I have a passion for teaching and transferring Japanese
language skills to our younger generation”.
Maj. Gen (Retd) Muhammad Jaffar, Rector NUML, while appreciating the services of Mr. Zafar, congratulated him for receiving this award in recognition of his efforts for promoting the Japanese language in Pakistan from the platform of NUML.=DNPK
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COURTESY pk.emb-japan.go.jp
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