American physician Anthony Fauci, who served as COVID-19 adviser to two U.S. administrations, is among the foreigners recognized in this year's spring decorations for their notable contributions to Japan, the government said Saturday.
Fauci, 82, who was director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022, will receive the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star for his work during the pandemic and his contribution to promoting medical cooperation and the strengthening of relations with Japan.
Fauci, who served under former U.S. President Donald Trump and his successor Joe Biden, said it was "truly a great honor" to receive such recognition, adding that throughout his career he has had the "pleasure to collaborate with so many outstanding Japanese scientists."
The coronavirus pandemic came toward the end of Fauci's tenure. As partisan conflicts over vaccination and mask-wearing raged in the United States, Fauci received death threats, but he continued to provide information based on science, saying "the best way to counter misinformation is to flood the system with correct information."
He also praised Japan for its handling of the pandemic, saying, "There were many things that Japan did successfully to dampen the effect of the pandemic. We in the United States can learn from Japan and vice versa."
A total of 103 foreigners, representing 50 countries and regions, will receive spring decorations this year, with 24 of them women.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and the U.S. Space Force's first Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond will receive the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, the highest honor awarded this year.
Raymond participated in the Operation Tomodachi rescue and relief efforts jointly conducted by the U.S. military and Japan's Self-Defense Forces following the massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 that devastated the country's northeast.
"I'm extremely honored," the 60-year-old said, "I have worked very closely with the (Japanese Air Self-Defense Force) over the years."
Regarding his role as the first U.S. space operations chief, Raymond said that "space has become a warfighting domain, just like air, land and sea."
"Clearly the domain has become more contested...China and Russia are both developing capabilities to deny us our access to space," he said. "We want to make sure that space is peaceful and available to all to use."
A total of 4,009 individuals will receive spring decorations this year, with women accounting for 417, or 10.4 percent, and 1,892, or 47.2 percent, from the private sector.
Among Japanese recipients, Takuya Okada, 97, honorary chairman and adviser of supermarket giant Aeon Co., will also receive the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.
Former justices Masayuki Ikegami and Katsuyuki Kizawa, both 71, former Nomura Securities Co. President Nobuyuki Koga, 72, and former Tokyo Gas Co. President Michiaki Hirose, 72, will also receive the decoration.
Japanese actor Morio Kazama, 74, will receive the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette.
Physical anthropologist Mariko Hasegawa, 70, is among the recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.
Shigeru Iwasaki, 70, a former chief of the Defense Ministry's Joint Staff, and Takayasu Okushima, 84, a former president of Waseda University, will receive the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure.
Some of the decorations will be conferred by Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on May 9 at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
