the recipient of the Yayori Award Ko You Kyoung
Ko You Kyoung is working to expose the violence of militarism and in human rights advocacy for victims of crimes committed by US troops especially from the perspective of women who are sexually violated, in a society where there is a strong taboo on raising criticism against the US troops.
She works on supporting victims of the crimes committed by US troops, campaigning to reform the Status of Forces Agreement, surveying damages caused by US military bases, proposing alternative policies, investigating and supporting victims of US military exercises, investigating environmental destruction caused by US military bases and building international solidarity.

the recipient of the Yayori Journalist Award Junko Yamamoto Writer
Junko Yamamoto is a writer who has consistently made efforts to support the betterment of relations amongst the various peoples of Japan, and between people in Japan and the other countries of East Asia. She has placed particular emphasis upon Korean residents in Japan, as well as people living in Okinawa and the Korean peninsula.

Yamamoto has continued to focus on those who are working hard to tackle various problems outside urban regions, as well at the grassroots level, whom she believes are in the midst of creating new value systems that will someday be able to effect world change. She has covered a variety of problems and issues lying at the root of the Japanese-Asian relationship, such as abducted Koreans, "comfort women", Minamata disease, U.S. military bases, and humanitarian aid to North Korea. In doing so, she has continued to pay deep consideration to the matter of how to make connections between the feelings of those who are directly concerned with the issues in question and those standing on the outside.