On April 29^th, 2007, the Government of Japan announced the conferral of the Order of the Rising   Sun, Silver Rays, upon Ms. Elaine Yoko Yamagata for her many years of outstanding contributions   to the promotion of friendly relations between the United States and Japan.

Ms. Yamagata realized the importance of promoting cultural exchange and friendship between the   U.S. and Japan as a way of building amicable ties between both countries.  In 1970, she moved to   Fort Worth, Texas, where she has worked for more than 35 years promoting Japanese culture, advancing US-Japanese relations, and helping further the position of Japanese-American and Asian-American citizens in the United States.

In 1986, Mr. and Mrs. Yamagata founded the Fort Worth Japanese Society (FWJS) in pursuit of the promotion of friendship and mutual understanding between the Japanese and local communities. Ms. Yamagata served as president of the FWJS from 1989 to 1993, and still remains active as   chairman emeritus. Her active involvement includes her role in organizing a Japanese cultural festival held at Fort Worth, “Sun and Star 1996.” She has also served as a trustee of the Japanese-American National Museum in Los Angeles for 17 years.  Ms. Yamagata also served as Director and member of the Executive Committee of the Van Cliburn Foundation. She established the Japan Committee of the Foundation in 1992 in pursuit of detecting and developing young and promising Japanese pianists. The Foundation sponsored 20 recitals in 10 years and thus promoted the Van Cliburn Piano Competition in Japan.

Ms. Yamagata’s life-long dedication to the cultivation of friendship between both countries has   earned her a number of distinctions.  In September 1997, the city of Nagaoka awarded her the “Nagaoka City Certificate of International Goodwill” in recognition of her contributions to the sister-city exchange between Fort Worth and Nagaoka. In addition, in July 2006, on the occasion    of its 50^th anniversary, Sister Cities International presented Ms. Yamagata with the “Volunteer of   the Year Award” for her more than 20 years of promoting the Nagaoka-Fort Worth sister-city  exchange, building cultural bridges between the United States and Japan, and contributing to  grassroots exchange between the different cultures.

Ms. Yamagata’s other accolades include the Foreign Minister’s Award from the Government of   Japan, which she received in October 2002 in recognition of her contributions to relations     between the United States and Japan, as well as the Dallas/Fort Worth Japan America Society’s   2006 “Bridges-to-Friendship Award,” given to individuals or organizations which help foster friendship and understanding between Japanese and Americans in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area.