Lt. Gen. Voltaire T. Gazmin (ret.) received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, in a conferment ceremony held at the Japanese Ambassador’s Residence on Friday.

The award, conferred by Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, was given in recognition of his invaluable contribution to strengthening the relations between Japan and the Philippines in the defense sector.

In his congratulatory message, Ambassador Koshikawa lauded the leadership of Gazmin as the Secretary of National Defense for six years and expressed his appreciation for his strong initiative to sign the “Memorandum on Defense Cooperation and Exchanges Between The Ministry of Defense of Japan and The Department of National Defense of The Republic of the Philippines” (2015) and the “Agreement Between The Government of Japan and The Government of The Republic of the Philippines Concerning The Transfer of Defense Equipment And Technology” (2016).

This which promoted close relations between Japan and the Philippines on the security and defense cooperation in the region, as well as contributed to strengthening Japan and Philippines defense capabilities and improvement of security environment in the region. Japan Information and Culture Center