Award for Prof. Dr. Cornelia Storz

On June 12, 2025, the Japanese government awarded Prof. Dr. Cornelia Storz the Imperial Order of the Rising Sun with Collar – Golden Rays in recognition of her exceptional contributions to fostering bilateral relations and international understanding between Germany and Japan.

The Imperial Order of the Rising Sun with Collar – Golden Rays is comparable to Germany's Federal Cross of Merit and is awarded for exceptional service in the civilian sector. Previous recipients of the order include eminent scientists and politicians who have made notable contributions to mutual exchange.

The event took place at the residence of the Consul General of Japan in Frankfurt am Main, Mr. Takeshi Ito, and was attended by representatives of the Consulate General of Japan, the City of Frankfurt am Main, and the current and future Dean of the Faculty of Economics at Goethe University. Attendees also included professors and scientists from the economics, social sciences, and humanities departments at Goethe University, as well as from the Asia and Africa Centres (IZO and ZIAF).

Prof. Dr Cornelia Storz has headed the Chair of Innovation and Entrepreneurship with a focus on Japan and East Asia at Goethe University in Frankfurt since 2009. Her research focuses on innovation in established companies and among entrepreneurs, the promotion of knowledge creation by universities, the support that organisations receive from their institutional environment, and the shaping of digital companies' identity. Dr. Storz also focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship in developing countries. In her current research projects, she is using new methods (computer vision) to analyse product differentiation. 

Her research projects have received funding from 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).

Prof. Dr. Cornelia Storz has held visiting professorships at Osaka University in Japan, among others, and has also been a visiting scholar at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Keck Graduate Institute and the Institute for Innovation Research at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. She also worked as a visiting scholar at the RIETI (Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry) in Tokyo at the invitation of the METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry).

Link: Website of Prof. Dr. Cornelia Storz
Image: Prof. Storz and Consul General of Japan in Frankfurt am Main - Mr. Takeshi Ito
Credits: Jürgen Baumann