Japan Consul General Tetsuo Yoshida presents Chris Spearman with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star. (Image: Chris Spearman on YouTube)

By David Opinko

Former mayor Chris Spearman receives Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star

Jul 28, 2022 | 12:06 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A former mayor of Lethbridge has received a major distinction from the Japanese government.

Tetsuo Yoshida, the Calgary-based Consul General to Japan, honoured Chris Spearman with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star during a visit to Lethbridge earlier this month.

It is given to non-Japanese citizens who made extraordinary efforts to improve and support relations between their communities and Japan.

Spearman said it was an honour to receive such a distinction.

During his time as mayor, he says he supported the development of the new Bunka Centre at Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens, which held its grand opening celebrations earlier this month. He believes that the City of Lethbridge’s ongoing work with Nikka Yuko was a big part of why the Japanese government wanted to honour a local official.

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Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star. (Photo: Government of Japan)

Spearman adds that Japan and the Japanese people have always been an important part of his family’s life.

He recounted all of his children attending Judo classes in Lethbridge, eventually getting the opportunity to travel to Japan as part of the local judo club. His family has also hosted Japanese exchange students on multiple occasions.

Spearman, then-city councillor Blaine Hyggen, and Michelle Day from Nikka Yuko went to Japan in 2017 to request that members of the Imperial Family attend the 50th-anniversary celebration for the Japanese Gardens in Lethbridge.

“The protocol was that, if you were to invite members of the Imperial Family, then you had to hand deliver the invitation,” says Spearman.

“We went to the Canadian Embassy, we were taken to the Imperial Palace, and we had a scheduled 30-minute interview with the members of the Imperial Family and that meeting was extended to an hour and a half. We had such a good conversation.”

While COVID-19 restrictions prevented such a gathering from happening in the anniversary year of 2020, it was finally able to happen in July 2022 during the Bunka Centre’s grand opening ceremony.

Spearman touted Nikka Yuko as being a true tourist destination for Lethbridge, offering an experience that most communities in Western Canada cannot.

The presentation ceremony for the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star can be viewed below.