Prof Maathai has made history yet again by being the first ever Kenyan to receive Japan's highest honour, the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.
The Japanese Government has conferred the highest decoration -- The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun -- to Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (2004) Wangari Maathai.
A statement from the Japan Embasy in Nairobi said the conferment was in honour of Prof Maathai's significant contribution for raising people's awareness on environmental protection.
"This is the first official decoration ever conferred to a Kenyan citizen by the Government of Japan," read part of the statement.
Maathai's 'Mottainai' campaign, which stressess the concept of reduce, reuse, recycle and repair for environmental protection, has made her popular in Japan.
Source: Page 4 of The Standard, 30 April 2009
