An award ceremony was held at the residence of Japanese Ambassador Shibata to celebrate Commissioner Derartu Tulu, the President of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation, receiving the Patent of Decoration "the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette" in Fiscal Year 2023 Autumn.
Commissioner Derartu has made significant contributions to sports diplomacy and exchanges in track and field between Japan and Ethiopia since winning a gold medal in the 2001 Tokyo International Women's Marathon.
She assisted in organizing a meeting between young Ethiopian runners and the late Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in 2014 and helped coordinate joint training sessions between Japanese and Ethiopian long-distance athletes in Addis Ababa in 2019.
Derartu has also played a central role in deepening cultural ties between the two countries. She coordinated with the former Ethiopian President Girma to ensure the smooth restoration of the Japanese Garden at the Presidential Palace in 2012 and subsequently organized a Japanese tea ceremony and an Ethiopian coffee ceremony in the garden.
During the award ceremony, Ambassador Shibata expressed his hope that Commissioner Derartu would continue to contribute to the promotion of sports exchanges between Japan and Ethiopia and encourage young Ethiopian and Japanese athletes to train in each other's countries.
The Order of the Rising Sun is a prestigious decoration awarded by the Japanese government to individuals with outstanding achievements in international fields in recognition of their contributions to the promotion of friendship between Japan and other countries.
(Source: Embassy of Japan, Addis Ababa)