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The Japanese government has conferred honors on two Georgians being decorated for their work promoting cultural and economic exchanges between the state and Japan.
Lewis Holladay Lancaster III, known to most Georgians as Day Lancaster, was presented with The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette. Starting in 1875, the order is the oldest award in Japan’s system of decorations and medals.
The Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta, which covers the Southeast U.S., conferred the same honor on Greg Canfield, the former secretary of commerce for the state of Alabama. Their rank is two rungs below that of former Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, who was inducted into the order last year with gold and silver stars.
For his part, Mr. Lancaster grew up in Japan and came to Georgia for high school. He later spent four years managing the Japan office of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (then called the Department of Industry and Trade) in the 1980s, a time when many companies were beginning to set up operations in the U.S.
Moving back to Georgia in 1986, he eventually chaired the Japan-America Society of Georgia and served as the envoy in charge of the Japanese delegation during the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996.
More recently, Mr. Lancaster received the society’s Mansfield Award, which was announced in 2020 but awarded to him during an in-person ceremony at the Piedmont Driving Club in August 2023.
Meanwhile, Robert Marsh, a former manager of global accounts for United Parcel Service Inc. and current founder of GlobalMesh Inc., was honored in August by the Japanese foreign ministry “for the promotion of economic and cultural relations between Japan and the U.S.A.”
Mr. Marsh is chairman emeritus of the Japan-America Society of Georgia and continues to serve on its board. He was one of 146 individuals globally called out by Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya for their contributions.
The conferments come as the consulate closes out a year celebrating its 50th anniversary in Georgia.
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