New Delhi: Former Indian Ambassador to Japan Arjun G Asrani has been conferred the coveted honour by Japan's Emperor Akihito for his outstanding contribution in promoting Indo-Japanese relations.

He has been honoured with the 'Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun'. The decoration will be presented to Asrani by Japanese Ambassador in New Delhi Yasukuni Enoki.

Asrani, who joined the IFS in 1957, served in the Indian Embassy in Tokyo three times. He started his diplomatic career in Tokyo in 1960 after his training course at Oxford University.

He retired in 1992 as India's Ambassador to Japan. Since retirement too, he has been making tremendous contribution to bolstering friendly relations between the two countries, the Japanese Embassy said in a release in New Delhi.