Chairman Shibusawa Receives Special Award at the 47th Nokyo Jin Bunka Sho for Cooperative Collaboration Model

Shibusawa Atsuyuki, Chairman of the Pal System Consumers' Co-operative Union (headquartered in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo), has been awarded the Special Prize at the '47th Nokyo Jin Bunka Sho' (Nokyo People's Culture Award). His achievements in regional development through direct producer-consumer partnerships (sanjoku) were highly commended. The award ceremony was held in Tokyo on July 14 (Tuesday).

Contributing by Connecting Hidden Local Resources

The award ceremony was attended by 17 recipients across eight categories, as well as representatives from agricultural cooperatives and related organizations. Chairman Shibusawa was recognized for his efforts in 'co-creating regional development hubs with farmers, fishermen, and foresters' and for promoting a collaborative model among cooperatives that goes beyond mere product transactions.

Professor Nobukazu Taniguchi, Chair of the Selection Committee and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo, commented: 'The approach of mutual recognition between producers and consumers, rooted in local communities, truly captures the essence of cooperatives.'

In his acceptance speech, Shibusawa stated: 'Across Japan, there are outstanding local resources that often go unnoticed locally. It is the role of direct marketing to connect and utilize these resources for regional development. Moving forward, I hope to continue working hand-in-hand with agricultural cooperatives and other stakeholders to build a society based on mutual support.'

The Nokyo Jin Bunka Sho was established in 1977 by the current Japan Agricultural Cooperatives Association (Nokyo Kyokai) to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Agricultural Cooperatives Act. It honors individuals who have contributed to the development of the cooperative movement. Previously, in 2008, Noboru Yamamoto, then Executive Managing Director (later Chairman) of Pal System, received the General Culture Award.

Award Ceremony

Pal System Consumers' Co-operative Union

Headquarters: 2-2-6 Rakuasu Higashi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. Chairman: Shibusawa Atsuyuki Total business volume (12 member cooperatives and unified system users): JPY 268.96 billion. Total membership: 1.77 million (as of March 2026) Member Cooperatives: Pal System Tokyo, Pal System Kanagawa, Pal System Chiba, Pal System Saitama, Pal System Ibaraki-Tochigi, Pal System Yamanashi-Nagano, Pal System Gunma, Pal System Fukushima, Pal System Shizuoka, Pal System Niigata Tokimeki, Pal System Kyosai Ren, Ai-Coop Miyagi Website: https://www.pal-system.co.jp/ Keywords: