The Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta is pleased to announce that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan has decided to award the 2023 Foreign Minister’s Commendation to Mr. Craig Lundgren. Mr. Lundgren served as co-president of the Japan America Society of South Carolina for 16 years. One of Mr. Lundgren’s main missions has been to promote and maintain Japanese language education for children of Japanese nationals that come to live in South Carolina while they integrate themselves into their new communities. In particular, he has focused on the implementation of Japanese language programming in the Japanese Supplementary schools.  Mr. Lundgren’s exceptional contributions toward maintaining a strong foundation of education have helped lead to more Japanese companies choosing to make roots in South Carolina and the southeast.

Mr. Lundgren is being recognized for his promotion of mutual understanding between Japan and the US.

Background of Mr. Lundgren:

Mr. Lundgren was a student in the inaugural Japanese language class at Clemson University started by Professor Toshiko Kishimoto in 1988.  He then participated in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program from 1991-93 as a middle school English teacher in Sakata, Yamagata.  From 1993-1999, he organized a summer homestay program in Greenville, South Carolina for Japanese students from Sakata.  (The town was actually Hirata-machi, but it eventually became part of Sakata-shi.)  In 2017, he was part of the organizing team for the 40th SEUS Japan conference in Greenville, SC.

Join JAASC in congratulating Craig Lundgren on the recognition of his contributions to the friendship between America and Japan! Having served as co-chair for 4 terms, Craig continues to remain an active advisory member of our board and an invaluable resource to the Japanese-American business community here in South Carolina and the SouthEast. We appreciate everything that he does behind the scenes to make JAASC succeed and support our community.