Honour for work

Press, 18 July 1979, Page 7

Honour for work

A Japanese former Lincoln College student, Mr T. I. Kawase, has been honoured by the Queen for his services to New Zealand. Mr Kawase, who studied for a diploma of agriculture at Lincoln College between 1931 and 1933, has been made a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order. He received the award from the New Zealand Ambassador to Japan on May 29 in Tokyo. He is only the second nonBritish subject to have received the award, according i to a friend and contemporary at Lincoln College, Dr I. Blair, of Christchurch. Dr I Blair heard of the award this week in a letter from Mr Kawase. Upon the outbreak of war between Japan and New Zea-, land Mr Kawase was interro-; gated by the Japanese military for information about New Zealand. Among the things they had wanted to know were the suitability of invasion sites at Pegasus Bay and the Bay of Plenty, whether rice could be grown, and the possibility of a Maori uprising in support of the Japanese, said Dr Blair. Mr Kawase had either resisted these attempts to gain information or had given misleading information, said Dr Blair. After the war Mr Kawase was a strong supporter of New Zealand in Japan, and he helped form the New Society. He was also active Zealand-Japan Friendship in helping New Zealand visitors to Japan, especially connection. those with an agricultural Mr Kawase spent his working life — he is now retired — as a farm consultant in Japan.