Heart Surgeon's Imperial Culture Award Should Inspire a Nation of Goodwill

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The Japanese government has announced that cardiovascular surgeon Yasunaru Kawashima is one of the eight individuals selected to receive the Order of Culture in fiscal year 2025.

Dr Kawashima has made significant contributions to the development of cardiac surgery in Japan throughout his career. He played an important role in the development of heart transplant medicine, including Japan's Organ Transplant Law. And he served as the fourth president of the National Cardiovascular Center of Japan. He also continues as a professor emeritus at Osaka University.

Throughout his career, Dr Kawashima has worked tirelessly to save the lives of children who suffer from serious heart ailments. He is the longtime chair of the standing committee of the Akemi-chan Foundation, Japan's earliest fund to help pay for prohibitively expensive medical care for children with serious diseases. The Sankei Shimbun was the first to propose the fund.

Sincere congratulations to this great humanitarian and benefactor on the occasion of this prestigious award. The Emperor will present the 2025 awards to recipients in a ceremony at the Imperial Palace on November 3.

It Started with a Five-year-old

In 1966, the City Desk at The Sankei Shimbun received an anonymous letter pleading for help. The writer explained that he had a five-year-old niece living in the countryside who was suffering from a serious heart ailment. However, her family was unable to afford the surgery needed to save her.

Using the postmark on the letter, a reporter traced the sender and flew to Kagoshima Prefecture, where the niece lived. After meeting the girl and interviewing her parents, the reporter wrote an article with the headline, "Must One Die Because They Are Poor?" It was published in the June 7, 1966, edition of The Sankei Shimbun.

The public response was overwhelming, and Sankei received enough donations to pay the girl's medical expenses several times over. As a result, the lifesaving surgery went ahead and proved successful.

According to the wishes of the girl's parents and the donors, the pool of excess donations was used to establish the Akemi-chan Foundation, named after the sick girl.

Children helped by the Akemi-chan Foundation (2017, ©The Sankei Shimbun)

At the time, Dr Kawashima was a young cardiac surgeon, just back from studying in the United States. Yet he immediately set to work performing operations on children funded by the Akemi-chan Foundation. He went on to save the lives of many children.

Akemi-chan Foundation at Home and Abroad

Since 2003, Dr Kawashima has also been involved in managing the foundation. Since 2013, he has served as the chair of its standing committee. During his 22 years of involvement, his responsibilities have also included assessing the suitability of applications for assistance.

His work has helped expand the reach of the Akemi-chan Foundation overseas, too. The foundation has facilitated surgeries at Japanese hospitals for children from abroad who were otherwise unable to receive needed treatment for economic reasons. They have come from Southeast Asia, China, and South America. The foundation also provides medical support to Myanmar.

Inspired by Dr Kawashima's ardent desire "to save the lives of as many children as possible, both in Japan and abroad," the foundation has helped some 500 children receive the treatment they need.

A Country 'Full of Goodwill'

During an address he delivered in 2017, he reflected on the history of the Akemi-chan Foundation. He also stated, "I believe the people of this country are full of goodwill."

On another occasion, he said: "During the Great Hanshin Earthquake, there were no riots or looting. Foreigners found this strange. But the Japanese were, in turn, perplexed that foreigners should find it strange."

Japan should strive to be a nation that more fully manifests the goodwill that Dr Kawashima reminds us is inherent in the people of Japan.

Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun

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