JASM is pleased to announce that J. Bernard “Ben” van Lierop has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Mondale Award. We look forward to honoring Ben at the 29th Mondale Gala on November 14.
Mondale Award recipients are judged on four criteria:
1. Made a lifetime contribution to the Japan-Minnesota relationship through a variety of activities, projects, and initiatives
2. Provided leadership in a pivotal project which accelerated significant public awareness of Japan and/or Minnesota in the reciprocal region
3. Played a crucial role in developing a lasting partnership between Japan and Minnesota
4. Served as an official representative in fostering closer ties between Japan and the United States
J. Bernard van Lierop, fondly known as Ben, easily checked off all of the boxes for these criteria through his decades of service as an Executive Director, member and board member of JASM, as a board member of the Saint Paul Nagasaki Sister City Committee, and through his collaboration with other Japanese American organizations such as Concordia Language Village, the Japanese American Citizens League and JET Alumni Association.
Ben was instrumental in establishing and/or enhancing many of the JASM programs we have today, including J-Quiz, the Mondale Scholarship and the Obon Festival, and he was instrumental in forming the close relationship we have with the Japanese Consulate.
We congratulate Ben on yet another career achievement, and we thank him for embodying the very meaning of the word "service" with both humility and enthusiasm.
Kat Dalager, JASM President and Mondale Award Selection Committee Chair
Ben first traveled to Japan in June of 1950. He was two years old. The circumstances were harrowing. Ben’s family had moved to Korea in 1949 where his parents were beginning missionary service. A year later the Korean War broke out. The American military arrived on the family’s doorstep, informing Ben’s parents that all the foreign missionaries were to be evacuated immediately to Japan.
So, Ben arrived in Japan where he developed the bulk of his early memories. He attended local kindergarten and absorbed Japanese quickly. Ben often speaks of acting as his mother’s “little interpreter” for shopping and routine daily interactions.
At the end of the Korean War in 1953, the missionary families returned to Korea where Ben lived until he graduated high school. Then he attended Hope College in Holland, Michigan.
Ben returned to Japan in 1972 where he initially worked in the travel business, honing his language skills and developing familiarity with Japanese cultural and business mores. Ben’s two eldest children were born during early years in Japan. One lives now with her family in Sydney, Australia. The other lives now with his family in Tokyo.
Later, Ben entered other industries, specializing in outside sales. He interacted routinely in Japanese with his counterparts in the marketplace. His language, business and cultural fluency flourished.
In 1990 Ben met his wife, Chris Nelson, in Tokyo. They were married in 1991 in Tokyo. Their first child was born in Tokyo in 1992. Three weeks later they moved to Minnesota, Chris’ home.
Upon arrival, Ben immediately joined the Japan America Society of Minnesota and the St. Paul Nagasaki Sister City Committee. In 2006, Ben became Executive Director of JASM, a position that became the pinnacle of his professional life.
In 2022, Ben was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, by the Government of Japan in recognition of his contributions to strengthening relations and mutual understanding between Japan and the United States.
Ben has always considered himself a bridge between cultures. If you have ever spoken with Ben, you understand that he has been a competent and compassionate bridge.
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Please join us for the Mondale Gala 2025 to celebrate the Mondale Award recipient and take part in this special evening on Saturday, November 15th at the Oak Ridge Country Club in Hopkins.
Do you need Kimono dressing assistance? Registration will be open soon.
Early Bird (register by Oct. 11)
$160/ Non-member
$110/ JASM member
Regular (register Oct. 12 - Oct. 30)
$190/ Non-member
$130/ JASM member
Post-Deadline (register Oct. 31 - Nov. 6)
$210/Non-Member
$150/Member
JASM invites you to become a member! Please sign up here and then register for the Mondale Gala 2026.
jasm@mn-japan.org
P.O. Box 26639
Minneapolis, MN 55426
