Japanese Faculty Member Honored for Promoting Japan – U.S. Friendship

Fumie Kato, associate professor of Japanese at UNC Charlotte, has been honored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan for outstanding achievements in promoting friendship between Japan and the United States.

Kato was one of 28 people and 14 groups nationwide honored with the “Foreign Minister’s Commendations in Honor of the 70th Anniversary of the End of the War with the United States of America.” The Japanese program is housed in the Department of Languages and Culture Studies in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

She is honored for her leadership role in the development of one of the largest undergraduate Japanese programs in North Carolina and for ensuring that a record number of students are involved in study abroad exchanges between Japan and the United States.

Through her efforts, UNC Charlotte was chosen by the Japan-US Educational Commission (Fulbright Japan) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan for the Kakehashi Project: The Bridge for Tomorrow. This fully-funded youth exchange allowed 23 UNC Charlotte students to visit Japan in 2014. They participated in cultural, political, economic and historical excursions in Tokyo and Osaka, while visiting Osaka City University. In 2015, 23 Osaka City University students visited UNC Charlotte for similar experiences.

Credited with creating “a Japanese family” at UNC Charlotte, Kato in 2014 received the Bonnie E. Cone Early-Career Professorship in Teaching and was named a finalist for the Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence.

Kato’s students and colleagues credit her with creating an inclusive approach. As a result, interest in the Japanese Studies program at UNC Charlotte has skyrocketed under her leadership as coordinator.  This impressive growth facilitated the establishment of the Bachelor of Arts in Japanese Studies in 2011.

She uses her expertise in applied linguistics with emphases on language pedagogy, student motivation, and learning strategies to strengthen the degree program and inspire her colleagues.

She has demonstrated her commitment to experiential learning beyond the classroom, both locally and in Japan. She involves her students in the Charlotte-based Japanese community to increase their awareness of Japanese customs, culture, business etiquette, and lifestyle. She organizes and oversees extracurricular events, including speech contests, year-end presentations, a Japanese film series and Japanese dinner nights for students in the program.

Kato’s book “Improving Student Motivation toward Japanese Learning” published in both English and Japanese in 2010, enables other instructors to benefit from pedagogical successes. She seeks to help students understand that learning Japanese, while difficult in some respects, can still be an enjoyable experience.

Image: Wade Bruton