On September 23, 1966, Robert P. Connelly (at the age of 34) lost his life in an attempt to rescue a disabled woman who had fallen in the path of an on rushing passenger train. Both were killed. When the Robert P. Connelly Medal of Heroism was announced during the 52nd annual Kiwanis International Convention in Houston, Texas (1967), the statement was made, "...by his unselfish action he put tremendous and dramatic meaning into the phrase 'personal involvement'.
This man was the epitome of all that Kiwanis strives to be." The medal is awarded to a person, either Kiwanian or non-Kiwanian, who actually risks physical harm or death by accepting personal responsibility when he/she might just pass along his/her way.
To qualify for the Robert P. Connelly Medal, a person must:
- Actually risk physical harm or death by accepting self-imposed personal responsibility in the effort to save the life of another human being "when he might just as well pass along the way." (Nominee need not be a Kiwanian.)
- Have no official responsibility for the rescue effort.
- Not be closely related to the person involved in the rescue effort.
- Be nominated by a Kiwanis club within five one years of incident.
Following is the list of awardees nominated from the Japan District:
| Year | Name | Age at the Time |
Act |
| 2019-2020 | Yudai Suzuki Hibiki Oda Kengo Kondo | (19) (20) (20) | Saved a junior-high school boy drowning in a river. |
| 2018-2019 | Hisashi Fujimoto Hiroshi Agatsuma Kentaro Okada | (80) (38) (38) | Saved an injured woman from a burning house. |
| 2017-2018 | Mitsuhiro Ikeda | (42) | Saved an elderly couple who fell down to the sea in a car. |
| 2014-2015 | Noriko Nakamura | (60) | Tried to rescue a man who was picking up his lost matter at a rail crossing. Both were killed by a running train. |
| 2013-2014 | Shun Gen | (26) | Witnessed a primary school child drowning in a river, dived in twice and saved the child. |
| 2012-2013 | Mitsuo Kamata | (66) | Saved a person with walking difficulty from a fire. |
| 2011-2012 | Takashi Fujimoto | (25) | Witnessed 3 children drowning in a river. One has disappeared, but he saved the remaining two. |
| 2010-2011 | Takashi Kanjo | (39) | Saved a woman with walking difficulty from a fire. |
| 2009-2010 | Naomitsu Sugimoto Takanori Kinoshita | (18) (18) | Saved a 4 year old from a fire. |
| 2008-2009 | Yoshinori Kojima | (28) | Tried to rescue drowning primary school children. Although he succeeded in saving a boy, he ran out of his energy and got drowned. |
| 2007-2008 | Hirofumi Iwasaki | (34) | Tried to rescue a drowning primary school child, while he could not swim at all, and was drowned. |
| 2005-2006 | Atsushi Ohta | (72) | Tried to rescue a person stranded in a multiple collision accident in a tunnel, and was hit by a car. |
| 2004-2005 | Rieko Ohigashi | (36) | Tried to rescue a drowning primary school child. Herself was drowned. |
| 2003-2004 | Yusuke Hara | (13) | Tried to rescue a drowning friend. Himself was drowned. |
| 2002-2003 | Harumitsu Itoga | (70) | Rescued a drowning child, but himself ran out of energy and died. |
| 2001-2002 | Lee Su Hyon Shiro Sekine | (26) (47) | Killed at Shin-Okubo Station. |
| 2000-2001 | Otoichi Asai | (73) | Tried to inform an avalanche to a rescue group. Killed with three others. |
| 1999-2000 | Yusuke Imaizumi | (18) | Tried to rescue a drunken stranger at Fujisawa Railroad Crossing. Both were killed. |