Japan honors Abbas Kiarostami with Order of the Rising Sun

TEHRAN,Nov.4(MNA) -- World-renowned Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami has been awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (Kyokujitsu-sho) by the Japanese government. He received the badge and ribbon of the Order of the Rising Sun at the Embassy of Japan in Tehran on Sunday. The order is awarded to those who have made distinguished achievements in international relations, promotion of Japanese culture, advancements in their field, development in welfare or preservation of the environment. Kiarostami, 73, directed his latest film “Like Someone in Love” with an all-Japanese cast in Japan in 2012. He also made “Five Dedicated to Ozu” (2003), a documentary in which he pays homage to Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu, whose sparse but evocative style has been a major influence on Kiarostami’s work. The Order of the Rising Sun was established by Emperor Meiji of Japan in 1875. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun. The design of the Rising Sun symbolizes energy as powerful as the rising sun in parallel with the “rising sun” concept of Japan (“Land of the Rising Sun”).