Hayao Miyazaki among Magsaysay Winners: ‘He Tackles Complicated Issues for Children’

The Associated Press

17:17 JST, August 31, 2024

MANILA (AP) — A Vietnamese doctor who has helped seek justice for victims of the powerful defoliant dioxin “Agent Orange” used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War is among this year’s winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards — regarded as Asia’s version of the Nobel Prizes.

The other winners announced on Saturday were a group of doctors who struggled to secure adequate healthcare for Thailand’s rural poor, an Indonesian environmental defender, a Japanese animator who tackles complex issues for children and a Bhutanese academician promoting his country’s cultural heritage to help current predicaments.

Miyazaki Hayao, a popular animator in Japan, was cited by the awards body as a co-founder in 1985 of Studio Ghibli, a leading proponent of animated films for children. Three Ghibli productions were among Japan’s ten top-grossing films. “He tackles complicated issues, using his art to make them comprehensible to children, whether it be about protecting the environment, advocating for peace or championing the rights and roles of women in society,” the foundation said.

First given in 1958, the annual awards are named after a Philippine president who died in a 1957 plane crash, and honor “greatness of spirit” in selfless service to people across Asia.