TOKYO — Sempo Sugihara, 85, a retired Japanese diplomat, received one of Israel’s highest honors Friday for saving nearly 6,000 Jews from the Nazi Holocaust when he was a consul in Lithuania.

Sugihara is the first Japanese to receive the title of “Righteous Among the Nations” given by the Israeli Yad Vashem Authority. He joins 800 other non-Jews honored for great risks they took to save Jewish lives.

While serving in Lithuania during World War ll, Sugihara defied orders from Tokyo and issued transit visas to nearly 6,000 Jews.