The grandest title

A very special honour for Commission official.

The Emperor of Japan has conferred the Order of the Rising Sun (Gold Rays with Rosette) to Ruprecht Niepold, a German who works in the European Commission’s department for information society and media.

Niepold, an adviser on radio spectrum policy in the directorate-general, received the honour for his contribution to EU-Japan relations during his time in the international relations unit of the department for information society in the 1990s. He is one of 58 foreign nationals who received decorations from the emperor this autumn, and will receive the order from Nobutake Odano, Japan’s ambassador to the EU, later this month. Can there be a Commission official with a grander title?