2018 Spring Conferment of Decoration to Ms. Mary Hammond Bernson (Director of the East Asia Resource Center, The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington)
2018/5/8
On April 29, 2018, the Government of Japan announced the foreign recipients of the 2018 Spring Imperial Decorations. Ms. Mary Hammond Bernson, Director of the East Asia Resource Center, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, has been awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, in recognition of her contributions in promoting understanding of Japan in the United States and educational exchange between Japan and the United States.
- Decoration: Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette
- Service: Contributed to promoting understanding of Japan in the United States and educational exchange between Japan and the United States
- Name: Mary Hammond Bernson
- Major Titles:
- Director of East Asia Resource Center, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington
- Former Chair of the Japan-America Society of the State of Washington
Summary of Contributions
A high school teacher at the time, Mary Hammond Bernson first visited Japan in 1981 as a researcher at Keizai Koho Center and quickly gained an interest in Japan. After returning to the U.S., Ms. Bernson started working at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington and devoted herself to creating a curriculum introducing Japan at American educational institutions.
Actively participating in teacher-exchange activities between Japan and the United States, Ms. Bernson accompanied American educators to Japan as part of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. As part of a sister-state project between Hyogo Prefecture and Washington State, Ms. Bernson made great contributions dispatching educators every other year from 1992 to 2012 as Washington State coordinator in collaboration with the Hyogo Business and Cultural Center Seattle office.
In addition, since the beginning of the JET Program in 1987, she has greatly assisted the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle as a JET screener for the selection process of JET Program candidates. Ms. Bernson enthusiastically told students at the University of Washington and other educational institutions about the significance and appeal of the JET Program and actively improved recognition of the program in the United States. Through her many contributions in promoting understanding of Japan in the United States and educational exchange between Japan and the United States, Ms. Bernson has made an invaluable and lasting impact on U.S.-Japan relations.
Actively participating in teacher-exchange activities between Japan and the United States, Ms. Bernson accompanied American educators to Japan as part of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. As part of a sister-state project between Hyogo Prefecture and Washington State, Ms. Bernson made great contributions dispatching educators every other year from 1992 to 2012 as Washington State coordinator in collaboration with the Hyogo Business and Cultural Center Seattle office.
In addition, since the beginning of the JET Program in 1987, she has greatly assisted the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle as a JET screener for the selection process of JET Program candidates. Ms. Bernson enthusiastically told students at the University of Washington and other educational institutions about the significance and appeal of the JET Program and actively improved recognition of the program in the United States. Through her many contributions in promoting understanding of Japan in the United States and educational exchange between Japan and the United States, Ms. Bernson has made an invaluable and lasting impact on U.S.-Japan relations.