On June 12, 2025, the Government of Japan awarded Prof. Dr. Cornelia Storz the Imperial Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the promotion of bilateral relations and mutual understanding between Germany and Japan. The Order is comparable to Germany’s Federal Cross of Merit and is conferred for exceptional achievements in the civilian sphere. Previous recipients have included distinguished scholars and politicians who have made a significant contribution to mutual exchange. The award ceremony took place at the residence of the Consul General of Japan in Frankfurt, Mr. Takeshi Ito, and was attended by representatives of the Consulate General of Japan and the City of Frankfurt, the current and future deans of Goethe University’s Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, professors and researchers from the university’s economics, social sciences, and humanities departments, as well as from he its Centers for Asian and African Studies (IZO and ZIAF). Prof. Dr. Cornelia Storz has held Goethe University’s Professorship for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, with a special focus on Japan/East Asia, since 2009. Her research focuses on how established companies and entrepreneurs act innovatively, how universities promote the creation of knowledge, how organizations are supported by their institutional environment, and how digital firms shape their identity. She also examines innovation and entrepreneurship in developing countries. In her current research projects, she is working with new methods (computer vision) to analyze product differentiation. Prof. Dr. Cornelia Storz’s research projects have been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Volkswagen Foundation, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
