Order of the Rising Sun for Monash Emeritus Professor
L-R: Ms Jun Yano, Dr Robyn Spence-Brown, Associate Professor Helen Marriott, and Emeritus Professor Jiri Vaclav Neustupný.
Emeritus Professor Jiri Vaclav Neustupný has been conferred the highly prestigious Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor Akihito.
Emeritus Professor Neustupný was shortlisted in the 2013 Autumn Conferment of Decorations of Foreign Nationals in early November. This was followed by a ceremony on 29 November, where the Japanese Consul-General Sobashima presented Emeritus Professor Neustupný with the Order of the Rising Sun (Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon) medal on behalf of Emperor Akihito.
This award celebrates Emeritus Professor Neustupný’s contribution to the promotion of Japanese language education and Japanese studies in Australia.
Emeritus Professor Neustupný established the first Japanese language and studies program at Monash in 1967, and built up the program over a period of 27 years. The auditorium at the Japanese Studies Centre on Clayton campus was formally named the J. V. Neustupný Auditorium after him, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Centre in 2006.
After his long appointment at Monash, he held positions at three Japanese universities and was the first foreigner to be made a full professor at a national university in Japan. In total, he has played a leading role in Japanese language education and studies worldwide for 38 years.
Associate Professor Helen Marriott, Dr Robyn Spence-Brown, and former Monash staff Ms Jun Yano, all of the School of Cultures, Languages and Linguistics were also present to represent Monash and participate in the celebrations.