Decoration Conferment Ceremony for Mr. Henry “Hank” Aaron

    On January 14, a ceremony was held at the Official Residence of the Consul General of Japan in Atlanta, Mr. Takashi Shinozuka, to honor former professional baseball player, Mr. Henry “Hank” Aaron, who was conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette as a recipient of the 2015 Autumn Imperial Decoration. As Co-Founder and Honorary Director of the World Children’s Baseball Fair, Mr. Aaron was recognized for his contribution to promoting youth exchanges and friendly relations between Japan and the United States through baseball.

    CG Shinozuka began the ceremony by offering his congratulations, noting that “Mr. Aaron has had great success working with Japanese homerun king, Mr. Sadaharu Oh, to give children an opportunity to gather to learn about baseball and culture. Japan is very honored to have a friend like Mr. Aaron.” The Consul General went on to mention, “I come from a generation that worshipped Mr. Aaron and Mr. Oh as superheroes. I am proud to be able to present this honor to Mr. Aaron.”

    Upon being presented with his decoration and patent of the Order of the Rising Sun, Mr. Aaron said, “After being invited to Japan to compete in a homerun derby with Mr. Sadaharu Oh, Mr. Oh and I started thinking about what we could do for children. Then for the next 25 years we were able to play baseball with children, going back and forth between the United States and Japan. Our goal for the World Children’s Baseball Fair was for the children to become pen pals. I am so happy to be recognized for my efforts to further deepen exchanges through the children’s letter-writing.”

    U.S. Congressman David Scott also congratulated Mr. Aaron, remarking that, “Although Hank [Mr. Aaron] is loved all over the world, the people of Georgia especially love him and love Japan. Not only did Hank accomplish hitting 755 homeruns, but he also worked hard to strengthen the ties between the United States and Japan through baseball.”

    A video message was sent from Mr. Sadaharu Oh. In his message, Mr. Oh said, “Hank’s extraordinary skills and unique talents as a batter will forever leave a mark on the hearts and minds of his fans.” Mr. Oh continued, “To be acknowledged in this way, based on your many years of hard work and dedication, I think this makes us all extremely happy… Please take care of yourself [Hank]. Let’s continue to work hard together to share baseball with children all around the world.”

    Finally, Mr. Derek Schiller, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing with the Atlanta Braves, raised a cup of Japanese sake with the guests in attendance and offered a toast saying, “Kampai.”