Our corporate alumni, Mr. Kenzo Motojima, has been posthumously decorated with the national order of merit “l’Ordre National du Kolatier” by Republic of Guinea. Mr. Motojima also served as chair to a non-profit organization for friends of Guinea. The ceremony was conducted at the Ambassasdor’s Residence on October 12, 2917. It is the first time a Japanese citizen has been awarded with this honor.

Mr. Motojima led the project on the national topographic mapping project of Guinea in 1977, working to establish both the national geodetic control network and a National Geographic Institute. The project remains the largest-scale ODA project by Japan to date. Mr. Motojima continued to work towards friendship and exchange between countries through the non-profit, and contributed deeply to the development of the Republic of Guinea.

The project utilized an early satellite-based survey method that predates Global Position Systems (GPS) to establish a geodetic control network, and has been featured by media including NHK’s documentary series “Project X”.