Part 4: Winners Announced for the "Zenkyoren Japan Advertising Awards"

The All Japan Advertising Federation (Chairman: Akira Ohira) held the selection committee meeting for the 4th "Zenkyoren Japan Advertising Awards" on December 16 last year. The "Matsushita Award" was presented to Mr. Toshio Kagami (Chairman and CEO, Oriental Land Co., Ltd.), the "Masariki Award" to Mr. Takeo Hori (Founder and Senior Advisor, Horipro Inc.), the "Yoshida Award" to Mr. Yasuhiko Kobayashi (Professor Emeritus, Aoyama Gakuin University), the "Yamana Award" to Mr. Kenya Hara (Designer, President, Nippon Design Center), and the Special Award to Mr. Shohei Fukui (CI Strategy Planner, Director, Event Society). The awards will be presented during the ceremony of the "64th All Japan Advertising Federation Sendai Convention" scheduled for May 18. The recipients and reasons for each award are as follows.

■ "Matsushita Award"

Toshio Kagami, Chairman and CEO, Oriental Land Co., Ltd.

Appointed President in 1995 and assumed his current position in 2005. He was instrumental in the opening of Tokyo Disneyland in 1983 and subsequently led the development and growth of Tokyo Disney Resort (TDR), including Tokyo DisneySea and associated hotels. Through continuous growth investment, unique marketing strategies, and thorough staff training and meticulous service, he increased customer repeat rates and developed TDR into one of Japan's premier integrated resort facilities. He also actively pursued advertising across various media, significantly contributing to strengthening the brand and increasing visitor numbers.

■ "Masariki Award"

Takao Hori & Founder, Senior Advisor, Horipro

Founded Horipro Productions (now Horipro) in 1960. Over the subsequent half-century, he consistently produced outstanding talent while pioneering a business model that integrated planning, development, and production across television programs, music, films, TV commercials, stage productions, and online content. As a pioneer in modernizing Japan's entertainment industry, he made significant contributions to the development of visual media and advertising content. He made substantial contributions to elevating the industry's overall social standing, including being the first talent agency to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's First Section and joining Keidanren (Japan Business Federation).

■ "Yoshida Award"

Yasuhiko Kobayashi, Professor Emeritus, Aoyama Gakuin University

For many years, he taught advertising, marketing, and communication, nurturing and producing numerous outstanding talents. In advertising research, he published many practically insightful findings. He actively participated in advertising-related organizations, playing a major role as a bridge between academia and the advertising world. As President of the Japan Advertising Association, he was instrumental in establishing the association's Creative Forum. His achievements are substantial, having shouldered the important responsibility as a leader in advertising academia while dedicating himself to the development and advancement of advertising and marketing.

■"Yamana Award"

Kenya Hara   Designer, President of Nippon Design Center

Through exhibitions like "RE DESIGN" and "HAPTIC," conceived from his unique perspective, he raised awareness of the potential for design hidden within everyday life and human senses. He has served as a member of the MUJI Advisory Board since 2002. Designed the opening and closing ceremony programs for the Nagano Olympics and the official poster for the Aichi Expo. Recipient of numerous domestic and international awards, including the Tokyo ADC Grand Prix, Mainichi Design Award, and Yusaku Kamekura Award. In recent years, focused on projects showcasing the potential of Japanese industry to the world, such as the "TOKYO FIBER" and "JAPAN CAR" exhibitions. As a professor at Musashino Art University, he has made significant contributions to the development of the design world through mentoring and nurturing the next generation. Author of numerous books, including "Design of Design."

■"Special Award"

Mr. Shohei Fukui  CI Strategy Planner, Director of the Event Society

As the overall producer for the Japan Pavilion at the Milan Expo, he contributed to its Gold Medal win by showcasing Japan's wisdom and techniques in "food and agriculture" that benefit the world. He also established the trade fair project "Japan Salone" and an information dissemination initiative using "4K Internet Cloud," vividly promoting the appeal of Japanese food culture to the international community. Furthermore, since 2012, he has organized and chaired research on an exposition concept to support the creative reconstruction of Tohoku through the Event Society, actively promoting policy proposals to various sectors.