The Chairman of the IAFOR International Advisory Board, the Reverend Professor Stuart D. B. Picken was invited to London to attend a reception at the Japanese Embassy, hosted by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko as an expression of their gratitude towards Britons who had helped support Japan after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
Professor Picken helped organise fundraising efforts through both the Japan Society of Scotland, of which he is the chair, in the UK, and IAFOR in Japan. In 2007 Professor Picken was awarded the Imperial Decoration, The Order of the Sacred Treasure for his pioneering research and contributions to Japan-UK relations.
