Mrs. Ayako Sono, the former and the first Honorary Chair of the IAMU, passed away on 28 February at the age of 93. She was a prominent Japanese writer and took the position of the Chairman of the Nippon Foundation from December 2000 to June 2005, during which she was also the Honorary Chair of the IAMU.
She contributed her message to the first issue of the IAMU News in March 2000, in which she mentioned,
“It is my hope that activities carried out by the IAMU will trigger moves to set in motion new structures which will prove the seafarers’ education and the safety management that the international maritime community should aim to accomplish.” Amazingly, it is valid even today.
We pray from the bottom of our hearts that her soul may rest in peace.
Mrs. Ayako Sono at the opening ceremony of AGA1 in Istanbul
Takeshi Nakazawa,
Executive Director, IAMU
