Former U.S. defense secretaries Chuck Hagel and Ashton Carter, as well as former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, will be among 142 foreign nationals recognized in this year’s spring awards for notable contributions to relations between Japan and their countries, the government said Tuesday. Hagel, 72, and Carter, 64, who served in former U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, and Hailemariam, 53, will receive the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun. Jazz trumpeter Terumasa Hino, 76, will receive the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette. Former financial services minister Shizuka Kamei, 82, and the chairman of the Nippon Foundation, Yohei Sasakawa, 80, are among those who will receive the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun. The award ceremony will be held at the Imperial Palace on Thursday, with the emperor and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in attendance.

Source: Ethiopian News May 21, 2019 07:07 UTC