KYOCERA CorporationKDDI CORPORATION
Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.
INAMORI FOUNDATION
November 29,2019
TOKYO, Nov. 29, 2019 Dr. Kazuo Inamori, a global entrepreneur and philanthropist, today received the title of Honorary Knight Commander of the Host Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) from Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom.
The honor, bestowed in Japan by His Excellency Paul Madden, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom, during an investiture ceremony at the Ambassadors residence, was announced by Kyocera Corporation, KDDI Corporation, Japan Airlines Co., Ltd., and the Inamori Foundation.
Inamori is founder and chairman emeritus of Kyocera; chairman emeritus and honorary advisor of KDDI; honorary advisor of Japan Airlines; and founder of the Inamori Foundation.
The honorary KBE title recognizes outstanding achievements and contributions to society as a whole. Other recipients have included Bill and Melinda Gates, Steven Spielberg, Alan Greenspan, James Watson, Bono and Ralph Lauren.
Paul Madden ,British Ambassador to Japan (left) Dr. Kazuo Inamori (right)
(C) British Embassy Tokyo
Dr Inamori Kazuo honoured by the Queen
In recognition of his distinguished services to relations between the UK and Japan in variety of fields, Paul Madden, the British Ambassador to Japan, has presented Dr Inamori Kazuo, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Kyocera Corporation, Honorary Adviser of KDDI Corporation and of Japan Airlines, and Founder and President of Inamori Foundation with an Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, at an investiture ceremony held at the British Embassy Tokyo on 28 November 2019.
The companies that Dr Inamori founded, Kyocera and KDDI, have created thousands of jobs and revitalised local economies across the UK, including data centres in the London Docklands which carry more than half the public internet traffic in Europe. At Japan Airlines, Dr Inamori played a critical role in negotiating the contract to purchase Airbus aircraft. The Kyoto Prize that Dr Inamori created was recognised 12 eminent British individuals with awards since 1984. With support from the Inamori Foundation, the Blavatnik School of Government at oxford University established the Universitys newest department as one of the worlds foremost schools for public policy, educating and inspiring future generations of leaders to improve governance throughout the world for the benefit of mankind.
For his personal leadership and commitment, the British Ambassador Paul Madden salute Dr Inamori, and delighted to congratulate Dr Inamori on the award of an Honorary Knighthood.
This is really more of an honor than I deserve, Inamori stated. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude.
Inamori established Kyocera at age 27 and began devoting himself continuously to the development and marketing of advanced ceramic materials. After the deregulation of Japans telecommunications market, he established DDI Corporation (now KDDI) with the goal of lowering long-distance calling fees. In 2010, at the age of 78, he accepted a volunteer assignment as chairman of Japan Airlines, leading it out of bankruptcy, returning it to solid profitability, and relisting it on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. As a philanthropist, he established the non-profit Inamori Foundation and the Kyoto Prize in 1984 to honor researchers and artists who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement and development of humankind, in order to realize his lifelong belief that human beings have no higher calling than to strive for the greater good of humanity and the world.
Inamoris most recent engagement with the UK began with a lecture he gave at the Embassy in 2013. The following year, he was invited to speak at the University of Oxford. Subsequently, the university proposed hosting an annual lecture series as a forum for each years Kyoto Prize laureates to discuss their lives and works. The Kyoto Prize at Oxford series began in 2017 within the Graduate Schools Inamori Forum, building closer ties between Japan and the UK.
I feel that the conferment of this honor represents the greatest praise for the activities that Kyocera, KDDI, Japan Airlines, and the Inamori Foundation have fostered together with the British people in their respective histories, Inamori continued. I want to share this honor with everyone in each company. I will continue to make efforts so that the friendly relationship between Japan and the UK may further develop in favorable ways forever.
About KYOCERA
Kyocera Corporation (TOKYO: 6971) (
https://global.kyocera.com/), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of
fine ceramics (also known as advanced ceramics). By combining these engineered materials with metals and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of industrial and automotive components, semiconductor packages, electronic devices, solar power generating systems, printers, copiers and mobile phones. During the year ended March 31, 2019, the companys consolidated sales revenue totaled 1.62 trillion yen (approx. USD14.6 billion). Kyocera appears on the Derwent Top 100 Global Innovators 2018-19 list by Clarivate Analytics and is ranked #655 on Forbes magazines 2019 Global 2000 list of the Worlds Largest Publicly Companies.
About KDDI KDDI is a telecommunication service provider in Japan, offering both mobile and fixed-line communications. With its well-established base of over 40 million subscribers, and through mobile services and shops offering its au brand, KDDI is expanding its services into the Life Design business, which includes e-commerce, fintech, nationwide electric power utility services, entertainment and education. With a 36-year history, KDDI is now focusing on creating smart infrast
