[Ambassador] Conferment Ceremony of the Foreign Minister’s Commendation on Ms Vergels Sato Aki, Koto and Shamisen player and Ms Saito Aki, ballet dancer and former ballet teacher at the Royal Ballet School in Antwerpen

On 22nd October, Ambassador Mikami hosted the Conferment Ceremony of the Foreign Minister’s Commendation on Ms Vergels Sato Aki, Koto and Shamisen player and Ms Saito Aki, ballet dancer and former ballet teacher at the Royal Ballet School in Antwerpen.

For over 20 years, Ms. Sato has interacted with musicians in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, the United States, and other countries. As a koto and shamisen player, and as a member of ensembles featuring both Western and Japanese instruments, she has contributed to artistic exchange between Japan and other countries and to the promotion of Japanese culture.

Ms Saito served as a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet of Flanders for approximately 24 years and was awarded the Knight of the Order of Leopold by the Belgian government in 2016. Since 2018, she has taught ballet at the Royal Ballet School of Antwerpen as a teacher, contributing to artistic exchange between Japan and Europe through ballet, as well as promoting friendship, goodwill, and mutual understanding between Japan and Belgium.

At the ceremony, Ambassador Mikami expressed deep gratitude and respect to Ms Sato and Ms Saito for their longstanding contributions.