Manila, Philippines - Lydia Yu-Jose, professor at the Department of Political Science and at the Japanese Studies Program in Ateneo de Manila University, was conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon by the government of Japan.
Jose has been recognized for her contributions to the enrichment of Japanese studies in the Philippines, and for promoting mutual appreciation and friendship between Japan and the Philippines.
She has published various research on Japanese studies, including the authoritative Philippines-Japan Relations, a collaborative work which she co-edited with Kehata Setsuho, president of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies from September 2001 to Auggust 2007.
Jose has been executive director of Ateneo Center for Asian Studies (ACAS) since 2004, which promotes scholarly research in the field of Asian studies.
She has been teaching in Ateneo since 1967, which has one of the best programs for Japanese studies in the Philippines. She was director of the Japanese Studies Program from 1989 to 1993, from 1995 to 1996, and from 2004 to 2007.
In 2006, on behalf of the Japanese Studies Program of the Ateneo, she received a testimonial signed by then Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Taro Aso, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of normalizing diplomatic relations between Japan and the Philippines.