SHANGHAI — In a ceremony held at the Official Residence of the Consul-General of Japan in Shanghai on September 7, SATSUKI International Travel Service（Shanghai）was awarded the Ambassador's Commendation by the Embassy of Japan, recognizing the company's decade-and-a-half of dedicated service as a bridge between the two nations.

Consul-General Masaru Okada presented the award to Mr. Guan Sen, Chairman of SATSUKI TRAVEL, acknowledging the company's "tremendous contributions" to Japan-China relations since its founding in May 2012.

For 14 years, SATSUKI TRAVEL has operated at the intersection of cultural preservation and forward-looking exchange. Its programs span traditional arts — calligraphy, ink painting, and carving — that serve as a shared language between the two cultures; youth sports diplomacy across football, basketball, baseball, rugby, and ice hockey; and, most recently, cutting-edge AI and robotics study tours, including a 2026 visit to a robotics manufacturing facility.

Notably, the company never paused its mission during the pandemic, pivoting to virtual and hybrid formats to maintain the vital people-to-people connections between Japanese and Chinese youth.

"Japan and China are neighbors who cannot move away from each other," Mr. Guan Sen said in his acceptance remarks. "Youth exchange is the very foundation upon which this neighborhood friendship is passed from generation to generation. This commendation is not an endpoint, but a new starting line."

The Ambassador's Commendation, established by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is awarded globally to individuals and organizations of any nationality who have rendered distinguished service to international friendship.

SATSUKI TRAVEL is now calling for partnerships with schools, educational institutions, and youth organizations worldwide for its 2027 International Youth Summer Camp and Japan-China cultural exchange programs.