Mondale to receive Japan's highest honor for foreigners [View All]

[Joanne98]

Source: Star Tribune


WASHINGTON - Former Vice President Walter Mondale will be awarded one of Japan's top Imperial decorations in a ceremony this evening at the Japanese ambassador's residence.

The former Minnesota senator, who served as President Clinton's ambassador to Japan from 1993 to 1997, will be given the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers, the highest honor the Japanese government bestows on foreigners.

A spokeswoman for Japanese Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki said the award was made to recognize Mondale's contributions to U.S.-Japanese relations, both as an ambassador and as a private citizen. Mondale was credited with helping normalize trade relations between the U.S. and Japan, two of the world's largest economies. Since the end of his diplomatic service, Mondale has continued to foster educational and cultural ties between the two nations.

Mondale, 81, was vice president under President Carter, and ran himself for the Oval Office in 1984. He had largely retired from public life by 2002 when, after the death of DFL Sen. Paul Wellstone, he was tapped to run for the U.S. Senate against Republican Norm Coleman.



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