A Thai antiprostitution group and an Okinawa municipal assemblywoman were named winners Wednesday of this year's human rights awards presented by the Foundation for Human Rights in Asia, Japan.
The nongovernmental foundation has decided to present the Asia Human Rights Award to the Center for the Protection of Children's Rights, a Bangkok-based NGO combating child prostitution. From its inception in 1981, the Thai group has rescued more than 1,000 children from brothels and has housed them at its two rehabilitation shelters, according to the foundation.
The other award goes to Suzuyo Takasato, a member of the Naha Municipal Assembly and one of the first women to begin campaigning against U.S. bases in the wake of the 1995 rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl. Takasato will receive the Takako Doi Human Rights Award, named after Doi, a Lower House member who jointly chairs the foundation's board, the group said.
About 30 groups or individuals in Japan and abroad had been considered for the awards, it said. Each recipient will receive 500,000 yen. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Dec. 12 in Tokyo, the group said. The foundation was launched in December 1990 at the initiative of lawmakers, college professors, lawyers and others.