Sado won first prize and became the third Japanese winner (after Seiji Ozawa in 1959 and Yoko Matsuo in 1982) at the 39th annual International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors in Besançon, France in 1989.
ATP International Series | International Monetary Fund | International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement | ATP International Series Gold | International Space Station | Neil Young | Amnesty International | International Olympic Committee | Brigham Young University | BirdLife International | International Finance Corporation | The Young and the Restless | International Organization for Standardization | International Telecommunication Union | International Criminal Court | One Day International | International Nonproprietary Name | International Labour Organization | Besançon | International Civil Aviation Organization | International Boxing Federation | Toronto International Film Festival | International Atomic Energy Agency | International Maritime Organization | International Development Association | John F. Kennedy International Airport | Los Angeles International Airport | International Bank for Reconstruction and Development | International Court of Justice | Ernst & Young |
It is particularly known for its International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors (Concours international de jeunes chefs d'orchestre) created in 1951, which is organized every two years and rewarded famous conductors such as Seiji Ozawa (1959), Michel Plasson (1962), Zdeněk Mácal (1965), Jesús López-Cobos (1968), Sylvain Cambreling (1974) or Yutaka Sado (1989), who began their international careers with its first prize.