Dragon Ball author Akira Toriyama receives French Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters

According to foreign media reports, the French government awarded the "Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" medal to "Dragon Ball" author Mr. Akira Toriyama at a ceremony held at the French Embassy in Japan on May 30.

Akira Toriyama has always been a low-key person and rarely appears in public, so he did not attend the award ceremony this time. His editor-in-chief Akio Inō accepted the medal and apologized for Mr. Toriyama's absence.

"Mr. Akira Toriyama was always very grateful to his French fans, who had admired his work since the beginning of his career," said Akio Inō. "Unfortunately, Mr. Toriyama almost never attends any ceremonies nowadays, so I have the honor of receiving this award in his name. He asked me to tell you how honored he is to receive this award from your country."

The French Order of Arts and Letters was established by the French Ministry of Culture in 1957 to honor people who have made outstanding contributions to the literary or artistic world. Most of its recipients are literary and artistic figures, and many Chinese literary and artistic figures have also received it (Jin Yong, Jackie Chan, Zhang Yimou, Mo Yan, Jiang Wen, Tony Leung, Wang Anyi, Chen Kaige, Gong Li, Jia Zhangke, Zhou Xun, etc.).