Japan volunteer program awarded Asia’s Nobel Prize

A Japanese government-backed overseas volunteer program for the young has been presented with this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award.The Philippines-based award, given to individuals and groups for contributions to peace and development in Asia, has been dubbed Asia’s Nobel Prize.The award ceremony took place in Manila on Wednesday. Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers is one of the 3 groups that received this year’s award. 3 individuals also got the award. The group is operated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA. Emperor Akihito speaks with members of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers working in the Philippines during a January visit to the Southeast Asian nation (Image: Asahi) JICA sends Japanese aged 20 to 39 with specialized knowledge in a wide range of areas, including education and agriculture, to developing nations.More than 12 thousand volunteers have been dispatched to Asia since the program began in 1965.The head of JICA, Shinichi Kitaoka, took...