FOR helping build Japan-Philippines bilateral relationships and strategic partnerships, a professorial lecturer from the University of the Philippines-Diliman was recently honored by the Japanese government.

Dr. Cynthia Neri Zayas, an anthropologist, was among four Filipinos honored during the 2023 spring conferment of Japanese decorations.

Zayas was conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in recognition of “her contributions to promoting Japanese culture and society through her research and professorial stints.”

“[Dr. Zayas] is the “Philippines’ leading maritime anthropologist and foremost Japanologist. Having completed her master’s and doctoral degrees in Japan, she collaborated with Japanese anthropologists in pioneering maritime anthropological studies in the Philippines,” the Japanese government said.

“Her internationally recognized works on the cultures of disasters and free women divers, or ‘ama,’ in Japan have deepened understanding of Japanese society worldwide. Dr. Zayas was also instrumental in introducing Japanese traditional performing arts to the Philippines,” it added.

Zayas’ specialization includes cultural anthropology, maritime anthropological studies of Asia and cultures of disaster.

She was granted a visiting professorship in Kagoshima University, University of Malaya, and served as a visiting researcher in Kobe Gakuen University, The International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, and Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

She was the former director of the UP Diliman Center for International Studies, having served from 2011 to 2017.

The Order of the Rising Sun was established on April 10, 1875 during the reign of Emperor Meiji by decree of the Council of State and was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government.