Hank Aaron to be honored by Japanese government
Baseball legend Hank Aaron will be honored by the Japanese government during a private reception in Atlanta on Jan. 14 .
Aaron, 81, will receive the 2015 Autumn Imperial Decorations and is among 89 foreign recipients. He will receive the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in recognition of his contributions to promoting youth exchanges and relations between the United States and Japan.
The will be presented to Aaron at the home of the new Consul General of Japan in Atlanta, Takashi Shinozuka.
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Aaron is co-founder and honorary director of the World Children's Baseball Fair and currently senior vice president of the Atlanta Braves .
Since his retirement from baseball in 1976, Aaron has further helped to improve Japan-U.S. relations and youth exchange through both countries’ mutual love of baseball.
He has worked with his friend and Japanese baseball great, Sadaharu Oh. In 1989 Aaron co-founded the World Children’s Baseball Fair which holds annual week-long baseball camps for children. More than 20 of the 25 annual Summer Week Events have been hosted by Japanese cities.
In 1984 Aaron visited Korakuen Stadium in Japan in conjunction of the 50th anniversary celebration of Japanese baseball and spoke to a crowd of more than 10,000 attendees .
Other AJC news on Hank Aaron:
Hank Aaron on University of Missouri players speaking out
About the Author
Shelia has worked at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for more than 30 years. Previously, she worked at The Lexington Herald-Leader and The Louisville Defender. Her beat is a bit of a mixed bag that includes religion and spirituality, culture and trends, race and aging. She earned degrees from Spelman College and Northwestern University.
