Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Japanese government announced a list of 4,009 people who will receive the Imperial Spring Honors, including seven Arabs – four from Egypt, one from Bahrain, one from Morocco and one from Algeria.

Amr Moussa, former Minister of Foreign Affairs in Egypt and former Secretary General of the Arab League, was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun for strengthening bilateral relations and promoting friendship between Japan and Egypt.

Bahrain’s former President of the Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Mai Bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, will receive the Order of the Riding Sun, Gold and Silver Star for strengthening relations with Japan in the field of Archeology. 

Mona Ahmad of Egypt is awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, for promoting economic cooperation between Japan and Egypt. She was the former First Undersecretary of State and Head of the Asian Cooperation Sector in the Ministry of International Cooperation.

Larbi Belarbi, the former Honorary Consul General of Japan in Casablanca, received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, for his work on relations between Japan and Morocco.

Mouloud Latreche from Algeria was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Silver Rays, for promoting karate in Algeria and friendship between Japan and Algeria. Latreche is the President of the Japan Karate Association in Algeria. Faraq Barakat Al Sayed from Egypt is honored with the same award for introducing Japanese culture to the United Arab Emirates and promoting friendly relations between Japan and the UAE.

A total of 103 non-Arabs receiving awards included Anthony Fauci, former director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who also served as chief medical adviser to the president of the United States. Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, 89, was given the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun. The awards will also be given to, among others, some academia personalities, former ambassadors of several countries to Japan, former military generals in the American, Canadian and Indian armed forces, and some former local employees of the Japanese embassies around the world. 

In the awarding ceremony, recipients, including 3,906 Japanese, will meet Emperor Naruhito on May 9. It is the first time that recipients of honors other than grand cordons and orders with gold and silver star will meet the Emperor since autumn 2019 when this event was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.