The Government of Japan, on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor Naruhito of Japan, awarded the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Canada Akylbek Kamaldinov and the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Greece Yerlan Baudarbek-Kozhataev the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry website notes that the diplomats were awarded for their contribution to the development of bilateral cooperation and deepening friendly relations between Kazakhstan and Japan.
Kamaldinov was Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Japan from 2007 to 2016, and from 2016 to 2018 served as Kazakhstan’s deputy foreign minister.
Baudarbek-Kozhataev served as Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Japan from 2016 to 2021 and was a visiting professor at Tokai University in Japan from 2017 to 2021.
Both diplomats speak Japanese and English.