Principal Midori Thayer speaks at the ceremony at Okinawa AmerAsian School after she accepted the Japan Foundation Award bestowed on the school.

The AmerAsian School in Okinawa is the winner of the Japan Foundation Prizes for Global Citizenship.

The award, which honors individuals and organizations who engage in international cultural exchange activities, went to the school founded 17 years ago in Ginowan City to teach Amerasian students born in Asia to American fathers and Asian mothers, teaching both in English and Japanese. Midori Thayer, principal and administrative director at the AmerAsian School, accepted the award at the Okinawa Prefectural Government Offices.

“I am honored the foundation recognized our continuous efforts, and as a legitimate award recipient, we would like to help children with multinational backgrounds make a leap forward,” says Thayer.  “When we opened, we had nothing but passion and belief.  We kept our school open on a day-by-day basis, not knowing if the future would allow us to continue our goals and dreams.  We had many critics and doubting people who thought we would fail within a few years,” she added, and “we never dreamed that we would be honored by an award of this magnitude.

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