This year's autumn decorations will be given to 4,030 Japanese and 75 foreigners for contributions to the nation and the public in politics, business, culture and the arts, the government said.
The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, the highest honor in this fall's commemoration, will go to Hiroshi Okuda, the 75-year-old former chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) and currently an adviser to Toyota Motor Corp.
Also getting the top honor are Atsushi Onishi, 74, chairman of Shikoku Electric Power Co., Shigeo Takii, 72, a former Supreme Court justice, and Tsuneo Watanabe, the 82-year-old chairman of Yomiuri Shimbun Group Inc.
Among the foreign recipients, from 40 countries, are former U.S. Ambassador Walter Mondale, 80, will receive the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers for his contribution to enhancing friendship and mutual understanding between Japan and the United States.
The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, goes to Tommy Lasorda, 81, a former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, for his contributions to Japanese baseball.
Among the Japanese, 929 will receive the Order of the Rising Sun and 3,101 will be given the Order of the Sacred Treasure.
Of the 4,030 Japanese recipients, 323 are women, or about 8 percent of the total.
Sachiko Naito, a 74-year-old kimono maker in Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture, will be given the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Silver Rays, for her longtime service in the field of traditional dressmaking.
Actor Go Kato, 70, and cartoonist Motoo Abiko, 74, better known as Fujiko Fujio, who with his partner created "Doraemon" and other "manga" cartoons, will be honored with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette.
A ceremony will be held for the recipients Wednesday at the Imperial Palace.