is one of the commendations bestowed by the

Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

on people in recognition of their accomplishments in sport, entertainment, and other fields. The award, not restricted to Japanese nationals, was created in 1977 by the then-Prime Minister

Takeo Fukuda was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1976 to 1978. Born in Gunma Prefecture and educated at Tokyo Imperial University, Fukuda served as an official in the Ministry of Finance for two decades before entering pol ...

Recipients

Known to have declined the honor

Yutaka Fukumoto is a retired Japanese professional baseball player in Nippon Professional Baseball. An aggressive lead-off man and superior defensive centerfielder, he holds the Japanese career records in triples and stolen bases. He also hit more lead-off home ...

(1983) *

Yūji Koseki was a Japanese ''ryūkōka'', '' gunka'', march, fight song and film score composer. His real name was also Yūji Koseki, but its kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the ...

(1989, by the bereaved family) *

Ichiro Suzuki , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played for 28 seasons. He played the first nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the next 12 years w ...

(2001, 2004, 2019) *

Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese professional baseball designated hitter and pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Shotime", he has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels and in Nippon Professional Basebal ...

(2021)

References

{{reflist Japanese awards * Awards established in 1977 1977 establishments in Japan