Japan’s ‘Order of the Rising Sun’ conferred on baseball pioneer Manoj Fernando

‘The Order of the Rising Sun, Silver Rays’ was conferred on Sri Lanka Baseball/Softball Association (SLBSA) Vice President Kachchakaduge Manoj Caushalya Fernando by Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka Sugiyama Akira on 7 October at the Ambassador’s official residence in Colombo.

As a vital member of the SLBSA, Fernando has dedicated himself to promoting baseball in Sri Lanka for more than three decades. His contribution has been instrumental in excelling the Sri Lankan national baseball team in the region, as showcased in winning two consecutive championships in 2017 and 2019 at the West Asia Baseball Cup. 

Through his great passion for baseball, Fernando has vastly contributed to strengthening the bilateral relationship between Japan and Sri Lanka, notably by liaising and receiving successive Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs) in the area of baseball since 2002.

Fernando also played a pivotal role in realising a dream stadium at Diyagama (Sri Lanka-Japan Friendship Baseball Ground), which was completed with the support of the Government of Japan and JICA donation.   

“At the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Samurai Japan earned the glory of a Gold medal in baseball. We look forward to the day, when Japan and Sri Lanka will encounter each other in the field of dreams of the Olympic Games, to find the fellow spirit imbued and nurtured respectively under the same school of baseball.”

‘The Order of the Rising Sun’ is the highest order conferred by the Government of Japan, in the name of the Emperor, on individuals who have made distinguished achievements in international relations and promotion of Japanese culture, among others.