Wataru Takeshita
Director, Nippon Lighthouse Welfare Center for the Blin

Nippon Lighthouse was founded in 1922, when Takeo Iwahashi (1898-1954), who became blind partway through his life, published a Braille edition of an Esperanto textbook at his home in Osaka. Since then, we have developed a series of projects and facilities anticipating the needs of the visually impaired, including the first Lighthouse in Japan and the thirteenth in the world (1935), the Helen Keller Campaigns (1937 and 1948), the Asian Conference on the Welfare of the Blind (1955), the Vocational and Adjustment Training Center and guide dog training project (1970), the Information and Culture Center (1979), the Technical Center of the Tactual Information (1991), and the Rehabilitation Center for the Visually Impaired(1992).

The building of Nippon Lighthouse (build in 1935)

A ceremony to commemorate the centenary of the founding of Nippon Lighthouse will be held at Mielparque Hall, Osaka, on 3 March, 2023, expressing our gratitude to everyone who has supported us during this time. In the first part of the ceremony, Princess Akiko of Mikasa, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; Osaka Prefecture; Osaka City; Japan Association of Social Welfare Facilities for the Blind; and the Japan Federation of the Visually Impaired will give some words of congratulation; and all those who have supported us over many years will be presented with certificates of appreciation. This will be followed by the award ceremony for the 40th Takeo Iwahashi Prize, and a commemorative performance by violinist Narimichi Kawabata. The theme of the second part of the ceremony will be “Go Forward! What is required of Nippon Lighthouse from its 101st year onwards”. After looking back at the history of the past 100 years, four of our users will give presentations on “What we hope for from society, through Nippon Lighthouse”, followed by a panel discussion which will also include our staff.

Takeo Iwahashi and Helen Kellar（1937）

The Takeo Iwahashi Prize is awarded to recipients who have made an active contribution to education, rehabilitation, or welfare initiatives for the visually impaired in countries of the Asia Pacific region. In his roles as the Executive Director of Siloam Center for the Blind in Seoul, South Korea and Vice-Chair of Siloam International, this year’s winner, Mr. Choi Dong Ic, has worked hard for international collaboration. In addition to ongoing work on education support projects in Uganda and Tanzania and informatization support projects in Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam, he made a great contribution to the enactment of South Korea’s “Braille Act”, which can be considered unique in the world.

International collaboration has long been a declared goal of the Nippon Lighthouse, building on the strong bond between Takeo Iwahashi and Helen Keller, but in recent years, we have been unable to undertake any fruitful collaboration projects. However, using the Takeo Iwahashi Prize as a launchpad, we hope to deepen exchanges with visually impaired individuals and organisations in the various countries of the world from now on, making whatever international contributions we can. The recipients of the Takeo Iwahashi Prize were listed in “Support Activities for Disabled People in the Asia Pacific Region,” published by the Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (December 2007 issue), and so we would like to introduce subsequent recipients below (honorific titles omitted).

Mr. Choi Dong Ic: The 40th Takeo Iwahashi Award Recipients

• 30th recipient (2007): Br. Graeme James Leach (Christian priest, Papua New Guinea)
• 31st recipient (2008): Mr. Lawrence F. Campbell (Chair, International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment, USA)
• 32nd recipient (2009): Mr. John Keith Holdsworth (Former Chair, Guide Dogs Association, Australia)
• 33rd recipient (2010): Mr. Randy Weisser (Director, Resources for the Blind, the Philippines)
• 34th recipient (2012): Dr. Sun-Tae Kim (Founder, Siloam Center for the Blind, South Korea)
• 35th recipients (2014): Mr. Wong Yoon Loong & Mrs. Christina Anne Lau Mei Kheng (Managers, Vocational Training Division, Malaysian Association for the Blind)
• 36th recipient (2016): International Association for the Visually Impaired (Chair Mr. Hiroaki Ishiwata)
• 37th recipient (2017): Mr. Aung Ko Myint (Chair, Myanmar National Association of the Blind)
• 38th recipient (2018): Mr. Tetsuji Tanaka (Director, Japan Braille Library)
• 39th recipient (2020): Ms. Michiko Tabata (Chair, World Blind Union – Asia Pacific, Japan)