Former Prime Minister Helen Clark has been invested into Japan's Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun - one of the highest decorations Japan can bestow.

Former Prime Minister Helen Clark has been invested into Japan's Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun - one of the highest decorations Japan can bestow.

At his residence in Wellington, Japan's Ambassador to New Zealand, Toshihisa Takata, held the investiture ceremony to induct Clark into the order.

The Japanese Emperor offered the award in recognition of her work to strengthen the links between New Zealand and Japan.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF Former Prime Minister Helen Clark has received one of Japan's highest honours. Japanese Ambassador to New Zealand Toshihisa Takata awarded her the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun at a ceremony in Wellington on Tuesday.

In front of dignitaries including former Prime Ministers Jim Bolger and Sir Geoffrey Palmer, as well as diplomat and public servant Sir Maartin Wevers, Clark was also recognised for her work in strengthening ties between Japan and the United Nations Development Programme, when she was administrator of the programme.

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Clark has returned to New Zealand over the Christmas break, from her new role with one of world's leading drug policy reform think tanks, the Global Fund.

She said she was "deeply honoured" to receive the award.

Her ties with Japan pre-dated her work as a public figure, she said, recounting a "Japanese youth goodwill cruise" in January 1975, as one of 15 young New Zealanders travelling by boat to Japan.

"What I came to appreciate through my time in the public service, is what an incredibly important partner Japan was to New Zealand," Clark said.

"And when I left New Zealand in 2009 and went to UNDP, I very quickly came to appreciate Japan was one of UNDP's very good friends in the world."

Japan had been a "tremendous force for peace and development".

"Not only in our region, but in our world and I very much value that and the relationship I've had with Japan, its Government, its Parliament, its people and its corporate sector."

The Ambassador said that during her time in Parliament, Clark contributed to "the deepening of diplomatic ties and understanding towards Japan in New Zealand".

It resulted in "multiple high level exchanges" including the 2002 visit to New Zealand by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and Clark in return, visiting the Japan during the Aichi Expo".

Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako visited New Zealand in 2002, on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The award also recognised Clark's UN work on issues such as poverty reduction and sustainable development. She gained credit for her support of the Government of Japan, like the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, the third United Nations World Conference of Disaster Risk Reduction, and the World Assembly on Women.

Clark, who last year lost her bid to become the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, ended her second four-year term with the United Nations Development Programme in April.

The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun was the highest category of decoration in the order, which was established in 1875.