In 11 March 1943 Aung San and several other senior members of the Burmese government were invited to Japan to discuss the possible future independence of Burma. While there, on 18 March, they were decorated by the Japanese Emperor Hirohito. Aung San was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Third Class with Middle Cords. While in Tokyo he met Suzuki Keiji again, who explained that he had been sent back to Japan for being "too friendly with the Burmese". This conversation further convinced him to be suspicious of the intentions of the Japanese.