Monzurul Huq is known among readers of Prothom Alo and Dhaka Courier for being a prime channel of information in Bangladesh about Japan. Besides serving as the Tokyo Bureau Chief of Prothom Alo, he had been a regular contributor of our weekly news magazine for over 40 years and also reporting for the UNB. During his long stay in Japan spanning a period of more than three decades, he had written extensively on most of the important issues being faced by Japan and also contributed to a few other renowned publications of Bangladesh, including Sangbad and Kali-o-Kolom, the country's leading magazine on literature, art and culture. In the recent past, he had written and published for three consecutive years a periodic column in one of Japan's widely read national daily, the Mainichi Shimbun. In addition, he has also written and published more than a dozen books in Bangla and English. All these achievements as a journalist and author, however, remained less publicized in our era of self-proclaiming online periodicals as he prefers to remain outside of the limelight. Japanese government has recently picked him up as the first recipient of the Foreign Minister's commendation honor among all foreign correspondents stationed in Japan throughout the post-World War II period.

Every year the Japanese government selects and announces the list of individuals, organizations and retired foreign ministry officials for the commendation award known commonly in Japan as the Foreign Minister's Commendation. The yearly list includes the names of individuals and organizations making significant contribution in promoting Japan's relationship with nations around the world and it represents an important recognition by the government of their role in deepening the understanding of the societies, culture and histories beyond Japan.

Dhaka Courier has already informed its readers about the event where the Foreign Minister of Japan, Iwaya Takeshi, handed over the certificate of honor to this year's recipients. In addition, the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ) held a special event to honor Monzurul Huq for also being the first recipient of the commendation among regular members of the Club. The event held on September 27 was attended by a number of past presidents of the FCCJ where most of them spoke about the outstanding performance of Huq as a journalist assigned to cover Japan and also focused on his contribution to the club. He joined the club as the first regular member of Bangladesh in the year 2000 and during the last quarter century served in various capacities as an elected Board member. He was elected President of the Club in 2009-2010. He is highly respected among club members for being a voice of rational thinking with outstanding knowledge of crucial international issues.

The informal setting of the gathering allowed participants to discuss freely with Huq and also among themselves. Moderated by the Sri Lankan journalist Suvendrini Kakuchi, it was also attended by the President of the Foreign Press Center of Japan, Kazuo Kodama, and other FPCJ officials. In his speech, Ambassador Kodama focused on Huq's leading role among foreign correspondents in Japan in covering Japan for overseas readership and audiences, a role that paved the way for him to be selected as the first recipient of the commendation among serving correspondent of an overseas media.

Huq was later presented with a bouquet of flowers on behalf of another former foreign correspondent, Joel Legendre, and his wife Kazuko Koizumi. Joel is confined to bed for a number of years due to serious illness. He had been a member of the FCCJ Board during the presidency of Huq and also accompanied him in the past to many of the press tours to various destinations of Japan. As a result, the bouquet, presented by Kaz Abiko, a former president and a veteran journalist who served in the past as the East Asia Burau Chief of AP, also turned out for Huq and some other participants as a token of emotionally charged ignition, unveiling many of the good memories of the past.

Kaz in his speech focused on how Huq had carefully managed to guide the club administration at a difficult time that led to smooth functioning of the club. Among foreign reporters attending the event were journalists from a number of countries, as well as NHK media personalities and free lance correspondents. Presence of a number of non-journalists associate members of the club was also noteworthy, reflecting Huq's popularity among various groups that compose the membership structure of the FCCJ. A number of Bangladeshis working in media outlets also were among those gathered to congratulate Huq.

Also noteworthy was the presence of Mr. Badal Chakladar, a Bangladeshi businessman in Japan running a supermarket and a catering service in greater Tokyo. To the delight of the guests, he had supplied specially prepared Bangladeshi dishes for the occasion that also ensured a symbolic presence of Bangladesh at the event.