Vandana Shiva to get top Japan prize

New Delhi:  Veteran environmental philosopher and activist Vandana Shiva has been chosen for this year’s Fukuoka Prize, a prestigious award being bestowed by Fukuoka city government in Japan on people who contribute to academia, arts, and culture in Asia. Shiva was presented with the official notification of the award at a ceremony here on Monday. She will travel to Japan in September to receive the award at a function. [caption id=“attachment_387559” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Vandana Shiva. Getty Images[/caption] Japanese Ambassador to India Akitaka Saiki congratulated Shiva for being bestowed with the honour and said her contributions to protecting the environment are valuable. Shiva is the seventh Indian to receive the award after personalities like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Padma Subrahmanyam, Romila Thapar and Ashis Nandy. Accepting the award, the activist accused governments of forcing people to commit suicide as they follow an economy based on greed. “The recent incident at Maruti Suzuki factory is a classic example of what an economy of greed leads to,” she said. PTI