FCCJ's Freedom of Press committee is proud to announce the presentation of our annual awards on Thursday, May 28th, 2026.
As part of its mission as a koeki shadan houjin (public interest corporation) to foster freedom of press, the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, through the Freedom of the Press Committee, annually recognizes outstanding individual journalists and media organizations contributing to upholding the values of a free press in the Asia-Pacific region and Japan.
At the May 28th ceremony, winners will join us in person and remotely via Zoom. Cédric Alviani, Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific Bureau Director, will give the keynote speech.
The awards are the highlight of FCCJ's efforts to promote free speech and the free exchange of information, which includes issuing statements to condemn particularly serious cases of censorship, harassment or unlawful detention, and inviting speakers to highlight such problems in Japan and Asia.
The event begins at 7:00 p.m., but we invite members to join us from 6:30 p.m. for light refreshments.
How to participate:
Please make your reservation as soon as possible at 03-3211-3161 or email to front@fccj.or.jp or online so that staff can make appropriate preparations.
If you can't make it in person, here is a link for the event. Feel free to pass it on to anyone who would like to join the Award Ceremony remotely.
How to join online (Zoom ID):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83450957531?pwd=zaAUr1c6aRKWZeyEfq28SIiG9oDbS…
Meeting ID: 834 5095 7531
Passcode: 974745
FCCJ Freedom of the Press Committee
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FCCJ ANNOUNCES 2026 FREEDOM OF PRESS AWARDS WINNERS
The ceremony for the annual Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan 2026 Freedom of the Press Awards was held in Tokyo on May 28, celebrating the work and achievements of journalists and media organizations.
The Hokkaido Shimbun won the top award in the Japan category for its "Tracing the War" series. Between July 2023 and November 2025, the Hokkaido Shimbun published more than 50 reports in the series. The purpose was to record the memories of those who lived through the war while they are still alive, but to do so from the perspective of younger Japanese journalists -- two-thirds of whom are in their 20s and 30s. Their speech script is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iLARHm9D3wODWX6s2zw2uQ65r0i_FQi5/view?…
Yasuda Natsuki, a 36-year-old photojournalist and founder of the independent online media outlet Dialogue for the People, was presented with the Japan Honorable Mention Award for her reporting on the struggles of immigrants, women, children, and other marginalized communities in Japan and across a world riddled with wars, poverty, disasters and xenophobia.
Dong Yuyu, a veteran editor and columnist at the state-owned Guangming Daily, won the Asia Freedom of the Press Award. Dong was arrested in February 2022 while having lunch with a Japanese diplomat in Beijing. He was convicted of espionage in November 2024. His arrest came two months before he planned to retire from the newspaper, and his seven-year sentence was upheld in November 2025 after an appeal. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the only evidence presented at Dong's closed-door trial was his contact with foreign diplomats and scholarships to foreign universities, including a visiting fellowship at Keio University in 2010 and a visiting professorship at Hokkaido University in 2014. Previously, Dong was sent to a factory for a year of hard labor as punishment for his participation in the 1989 democracy movement. His son, Dong Yifu, accepted the award on his father's behalf.
Frenchie Mae Cumpio won the Asia Honorable Mention Award. Cumpio is a young investigative reporter who focused on abuses by the military and police in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. She faces up to 40 years in prison on what RSF, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and other media watchdogs and human rights groups have called trumped-up terrorism charges. Cumpio has already been held in detention for more than six years and recently was transferred from her hometown to the capital, Manila. A link to the video message from Cumpio's mother, Lala, which could not be played during the ceremony because of technical difficulties, is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kyHvxZM-FteQFm9et8fGsgdctnp5pXpx/view?…
Gwen Robinson was posthumously presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award. In the words of her colleagues, Gwen was a sharp, fearless journalist, and as a fiercely loyal friend, a brilliant conversationalist and an unmatched source of camaraderie and mentorship. She lived fully, worked relentlessly and never failed to make time, no matter the hour, for colleagues, contributors and friends. Beyond her professional accomplishments, Gwen was a stalwart of the regional journalism community. She served with distinction as president of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand from 2019 to 2021 and was a longtime member of the FCCJ. Last year, Gwen was laid to rest in Thailand, where friends and colleagues gathered to bid farewell. Her brother, Mark Robinson, accepted the award on her behalf.
A video of the awards ceremony is available on YouTube at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-K6DQa42r8
FCCJ Freedom of the Press Committee