John Powles
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John Powles (1948 – March 14, 2010) was the
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
president of the Canada-Japan Society and an important figure within Canadian-Japanese relations for more than 25 years. John Mark Powles was born in
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...
,
Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...
, but moved to
Yokohama, Japan is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...
, early in life. His father and grandfather were Anglican missionaries in Japan during the early 20th century. He spent 18 years living in several different Japanese cities. He returned to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
for college and earned a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
from the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...
in
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...
. Powles took several positions while working for the government of Canada in Japan, beginning with the Canadian pavilion at
Expo '70 The or Expo 70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan between March 15 and September 13, 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...
in
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
. This led to a position with the Canadian Department of Expositions, in which Powles was responsible for all of Canada's international expositions. Powles became the Director of Asia and Japan Operations for the Council of Forest Industries, based in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, in 1987. He also received the president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan. The Japanese Ministry of Construction awarded Powles its first honor to a non-Japanese citizen.
British Columbia Premier British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
Gordon Campbell Gordon Muir Campbell, (born January 12, 1948) is a retired Canadian diplomat and politician who was the 35th mayor of Vancouver from 1986 to 1993 and the 34th premier of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011. He was the leader of the British Co ...
appointed Powles as the head of the Japan Market Advisory Group within the Asia Pacific Trade Council in 2005. Japanese
Emperor Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. Bo ...
named Powles as a recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun in 2008 for his contributions to bilateral relations between Japan and Canada. John Powles died at
Lions Gate Hospital Lions Gate Hospital (LGH) is a 268-bed medical facility located in North Vancouver (city), North Vancouver, British Columbia. The hospital is part of and operated by Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), the regional health au ...
in Vancouver on March 14, 2010, of pancreatic cancer at the age of 61.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powles, John 1948 births 2010 deaths University of British Columbia alumni Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class Canada–Japan relations Canadian Anglicans People from Winnipeg People from Yokohama Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in British Columbia