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Japan confers awards on ex-DFA chief Del Rosario, 2 Duterte-era officials

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Rowegie Abanto, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Former Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario and former Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III are among this year" s="" recipients="" of="" the="" Autumn="" Conferment="" Japanese="" Decorations.="" George="" ABS-CBN="" News="" File="" and="" Department="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/11/09/20221109-del-rosario-dominguez.jpg"/><figcaption>Former Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario and former Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III are among this year&#x27;s recipients of the 2022 Autumn Conferment of Japanese Decorations. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File and Department of Finance</em></figcaption></figure></div><p><br/>MANILA — Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and two Cabinet members of former President Rodrigo Duterte are among the Filipino recipients of Japanese government awards this year.</p><p>Del Rosario, who served during the administration of the late President Benigno Aquino III, and former Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III were awarded Wednesday the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun in formal ceremonies in Tokyo.</p><p>Emperor Naruhito conferred the honor, which is the highest of six classes in the Order, according to an official release shared by Del Rosario&#x27;s office.</p><p>The Japanese government had also announced last week that former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade is given the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star; David Carter, the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays; lawyer Josue Sim Zuniega, Order of the Rising Sun, Silver Rays; and, Sakai Michiko, the Order of the Rising Sun, Silver Rays.</p><p>Del Rosario was &quot;instrumental in building the Japan-Philippines bilateral relationship towards becoming a &#x27;strategic partnership,&#x27;&quot; the Japanese government said.</p><p>He &quot;has significantly contributed in ensuring the safety of ships navigating the waters around the Philippines by strengthening the maritime security relations between both nations,&quot; it added. </p><p>The country&#x27;s former top diplomat pushed for arbitration over the Philippines&#x27; maritime dispute with China in the South China Sea, which resulted in a landmark ruling in 2016 declaring Beijing&#x27;s claims as having no legal basis.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/11/19/15/japan-philippines-to-boost-security-ties">Japan, Philippines to boost security ties</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/11/19/15/japan-philippines-approve-defense-equipment-transfer">Japan, Philippines approve defense equipment transfer</a></li></ul><p>Del Rosario thanked the honor given to him and said he is proud to share the award with all his colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs.</p><p>The Japanese government, meanwhile, said that Dominguez &quot;exercised outstanding leadership in promoting cooperation&quot; between Japan and the Philippines. </p><p>He contributed &quot;in many ways to Japan-Philippines bilateral policies and strengthened economic relations over the recent years&quot;, it added.</p><p>Tugade, who is given the second honor in the Order, &quot;promoted bilateral cooperation between Japan and the Philippines in the field of transportation, including railways, aviation, and maritime security&quot;, Japan said.</p><p>He made &quot;substantial contributions&quot; to enhancing Japan-Philippines maritime security cooperation.</p><p>In a statement Tuesday, Tugade said that with the award, &quot;the relationship and cooperation of the Philippines and Japan strengthen and will continue to flourish and be strong in the years to come.&quot;</p><div><strong>OTHER AWARDEES</strong></div><p>Meanwhile, Carter, a key figure in the promotion and development of judo in the Philippines and awarded with the fifth honor in the Order, &quot;has paved [the] way for the deepening and broadening of Japan-Philippine relations, especially in the field of sports cooperation,&quot; Japan said.</p><p>Zuniega, for his part, is given the sixth class in the Order for his tireless contribution &quot;to improving the status of Nikkei-jin in the Philippines and enhancing mutual understanding between Japan and the Philippines through his activities at the Philippine Nikkei-jin Legal Support Center.&quot;</p><p>He is dedicated to &quot;smoothly facilitating the activities of Japanese enterprises and residents in the Philippines for years,&quot; Japan said.</p><p>Sakai is given the same award for supporting children of Japanese descendants in Cotabato.</p><p>&quot;Many people who were stateless because they were unable to acquire Japanese nationality due to WWII, after war chaos in Cotabato region. Ms. Sakai played an important role and made great contribution for the acquisition of Japanese nationality by assisting in the collection of materials to obtain the Japanese nationality,&quot; the Japanese government said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/03/21/gazmin-mindanao-based-school-head-get-japan-govt-awards">Japan confers awards on ex-Defense chief Gazmin, Mindanao-based school head</a></li></ul><p>The Order of the Rising Sun has been conferred on several Filipinos in the past, including former President Jose Laurel and several Philippine ambassadors to Japan, according to the Official Gazette.</p><p>The Japanese embassy in Manila had said that the awarding of honors, including decorations and medals, is an act performed by the Emperor with the advice and approval of the Cabinet, based on Article 7 of the Constitution of Japan.</p><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVE</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1508133" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and two Cabinet members of former President Rodrigo Duterte are among the Filipino recipients of Japanese government awards this year.

Japan confers awards on ex-DFA chief Del Rosario, 2 Duterte-era officials

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Japan confers awards on ex-DFA chief Del Rosario, 2 Duterte-era officials

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published November 09, 2022 05:17 PM PHT

Read More:

2022 Autumn Conferment of Japanese Decorations

Albert Del Rosario

Carlos Dominguez

Arthur Tugade

David Carter

Josue Sim Zuniega

Sakai Michiko

Japan

Orders of the Rising Sun

Order of the Rising Sun

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