The Japanese Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, on behalf of the Japanese government, on Thursday granted the Order of the Rising Sun, the second of its kind awarded to a Vietnamese citizen, to businessman Nguyen Tri Dung for his contribution to improving relations between the two countries over the past 40 years.

The order, a 4th-class honor marked by Gold Rays with a Rosette, was presented to Dung by Consul General Nakajima Satoshi at a ceremony held to mark the 82nd birthday of the Japanese Emperor in the city.

The award for Dung, a commissioner of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, director of Minh Tran Co. and chairman of the management board of Tri Dung Business School, followed a decision by the Japanese government on November 3, according to the consulate general.

A letter of congratulations was also sent by Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida to Dung after that.

Nguyen Tri Dung went to Japan in 1967 at the age of 19 to study for 10 years, until the completion of his PhD in Tsukuba University, said the Japanese Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City.

Dung then worked for the Center for Regional Development of the United Nations in Nagoya for 15 years.

In 1989 he founded the Tri Dung Business School after leaving the center with an aim to promote the development of Vietnam as well as spur the advancement of rapport between Japan and Vietnam

He has been vice chairman of the Japan - Vietnam Partnership Club since 2003, and has assumed the "Hyogo Goodwill Ambassador" title and held many economic activities, and cultural exchanges between the two countries, since 2007.

Dung has founded the Japan Vietnam Network that links activities to promote cooperation and exchanges of technology transfer, especially on the basis of connecting people and local governments of both countries.

It has been 18 years since the first Order of the Rising Sun was granted to a Vietnamese citizen, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Oanh, former advisor to Vietnam's prime minister, in 1997, according to the Japanese Consulate General.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!