Japan’s ambassador in Cairo honours first pioneer of Egyptology in Japan

Reham El-Adawi , Sunday 12 Feb 2023

The pioneering Japanese Egyptologist Sakuji Yoshimura – who is supervising the restoration of Khufu’s Second Sun Boat for the Grand Egyptian Museum – was honoured Tuesday with a certificate of appreciation by the country’s ambassador.

The certificate was awarded by the Ambassador of Japan to Egypt Oka Hiroshi in a ceremony at the ambassador’s residence.

The ceremony was attended by world-renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s first minister of antiquities, and Khaled El-Anani, the former minister of tourism and antiquities, who congratulated Yoshimura on the prestigious recognition.

Yoshimura established in 1966 the first team in all of Asia to research and excavate Egyptian antiquities. Since then, he has worked in the field for more than half a century, accomplishing much using the latest scientific techniques.

Through solid and deep relationships with the Egyptian government, scholars and archaeologists, Yoshimura conducted several joint research projects with Japanese scholars and researchers and made outstanding contributions to the development of Egyptology research in Japan.

Yoshimura serves as professor emeritus of Waseda University (Ph.D. in engineering) and president of Higashi Nippon International University.

Currently, he is leading and supervising the excavation and restoration of Khufu's Second Sun Boat in his capacity as president of The Institute for the Restoration of the Sun Boat, a non-profit organisation with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The boat will be displayed as one of the main exhibits at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), which is supported by Japan, and will become a new symbol of cooperation between Japan and Egypt.