Bruce M. Brenn (born 1935) is an American businessman, honored by the government of Japan for having "contributed to the promotion of education for the study of Japan, the deepening of understanding between Japan and the United States and the development of the sporting world in Japan." [1]
As a 14-year-old boy in Tokyo at the end of the Second World War, he was one of four Western teen-aged boys who helped Japan's Crown Prince Akihito practice English conversation. [2]
Although he was born in Idaho, Brenn went to college at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. In 1958, he was part of the Oregon football team that went to the Rose Bowl. [2]
Brenn was Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nike in Japan. [1] The Nike corporate headquarters are located in Beaverton, Oregon; and even though he lived many years in Japan, working with Nike also served to enhance his sense of connection to the state of Oregon where he would later live in retirement.
Earlier in his career, he was a Citibank vice president in Tokyo. [2]
Brenn helped develop a Japanese-language program in the Portland public schools that evolved into the immersion program at Richmond Elementary School. [2]
As Chairman of the Center for Japanese Studies Advisory Board, Brenn actively supported the growth of the Center for Japanese Studies at Portland State University. [1]
Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next 20 years and was granted university status in 1969. It is one of two public universities in Oregon that are in a large city. It is governed by a board of trustees. PSU is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
Victor George Atiyeh was an American politician who served as the 32nd Governor of Oregon from 1979 to 1987. He was also the first elected governor of Middle Eastern descent and of Syrian descent in the United States.
Philip Hampson Knight is an American billionaire business magnate who is the co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike, Inc., a global sports equipment and apparel company. He was previously its chairman and CEO. As of December 2023, Forbes estimated his net worth at $45.0 billion. He is also the owner of the stop motion film production company Laika. Knight is a graduate of the University of Oregon and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He was part of the track and field club under coach Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon with whom he would later co-found Nike.
Samuel Rudolph Insanally was a Guyanese diplomat. He was Guyana's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1987 onwards and was Minister of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guyana from 2001 to 2008.
Yōsuke Matsuoka was a Japanese diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Empire of Japan during the early stages of World War II. He is best known for his defiant speech at the League of Nations in February 1933, ending Japan's participation in the organization. He was also one of the architects of the Tripartite Pact and the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in the years immediately prior to the outbreak of war.
Michael Hayden Armacost is a retired American diplomat and a fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute. He was acting United States Secretary of State during the early days of the administration of President George H. W. Bush, before Secretary James Baker was confirmed by the Senate. Armacost also served as United States Ambassador to Japan and the president of the Brookings Institution from 1995 to 2002.
The Order of the Rising Sun is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun. The design of the Rising Sun symbolizes energy as powerful as the rising sun in parallel with the "rising sun" concept of Japan.
William Jay Bowerman was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champions and 16 sub-4 minute milers.
Hitotsubashi University, also known as a Tokyo University of Commerce is a national university located in Tokyo, Japan. It has campuses in Kunitachi, Kodaira, and Chiyoda.
William Clark Jr. was an American diplomat who served as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to India.
Lars Walløe is a Norwegian academic, chemist, physiologist, and scientific adviser to the Norwegian government. He was the head of the Norwegian Delegation to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission, and he was honored by the Japanese government for having "contributed to the promotion of Japan’s policy in the field of fisheries". From 2002 to 2008 Walløe served as the president of Academia Europaea.
Patrick Lennox Tierney was an American Japanologist academic in the field of art history, an emeritus professor of the University of Utah, a former Curator of Japanese Art at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, a former Director of the Pacific Asia Museum, and a former Commissioner of Art and Monuments during the Allied occupation of Japan (1945–1952).
Japan–Kosovo relations are foreign relations between Japan and Kosovo. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008, and Japan recognized it on March 18, 2008. According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan and Kosovo established diplomatic relations on February 25, 2009.
Kim Choon-mie is a South Korean academic and Japanologist, honored by the government of Japan for having "[c]ontributed to the introduction of Japanese literature and the promotion of Japanese language education."
Sir David William Brewer was a British marine insurance broker who served as Lord Mayor of London (2005/06) and Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London to Elizabeth II (2008–15).
Arthur J. Collingsworth was an American United Nations official, international student exchange executive, consultant on international fund raising and real estate investor. He lived in the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Czech Republic and Germany.
The Heilongjiang University is a provincial public university in the Harbin, Heilongjiang, China. The university is affiliated with the Province of Heilongjiang. It is co-sponsored by the Province of Heilongjiang, the Ministry of Education, and SASTIND.
The University of International Business and Economics is a public university located in Chaoyang, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Commerce. The university is part of Project 211 and the Double First-Class Construction.
The Oregon Graduate Center was a unique, private, postgraduate-only research university in Washington County, Oregon, on the west side of Portland, from 1963 to 2001. The center was renamed the Oregon Graduate Institute in 1989. The Institute merged with the Oregon Health Sciences University in 2001, and became the OGI School of Science and Engineering within the (renamed) Oregon Health & Science University. The School was discontinued in 2008 and its campus in 2014. Demolition of the campus buildings began February 2017.
Rajiv Kumar is an Indian economist who had served as the second vice-chairman of the NITI Aayog. He also serves as the chancellor of Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune His earlier stint in government was initially with the Ministry of Industry and subsequently in the Ministry of Finance, as economic advisor during the reform years of 1991-1994. He has wide experience of having worked in government, academia, industry associations, as well as in international financial institutions. He also served as an independent director on the central boards of the Reserve Bank of India and the State Bank of India.
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