List of ambassadors of Japan to Australia

Ambassador of Japan to Australia
Incumbent
Kazuhiro Suzuki
since 1 March 2023
StyleHis Excellency
AppointerNaruhito
Inaugural holderTatsuo Kawai
Formation2 January 1941
WebsiteEmbassy of Japan in Australia

The ambassador of Japan to Australia is an officer of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the head of the Embassy of Japan to the Commonwealth of Australia. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and holds non-resident accreditation for Fiji and Papua New Guinea. The ambassador is based at the embassy at 112 Empire Circuit, Yarralumla in Canberra. The Ambassador is currently Kazuhiro Suzuki.

Japan and Australia have enjoyed full diplomatic relations since 1941 when Tatsuo Kawai was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Japan to Australia, although relations were severed after less than a year owing to the outbreak of the Pacific War in December 1941. Relations were restored in 1952 and have continued since then.

Office-holders

Minister

Incumbent Start of term End of term Notes
Tatsuo Kawai 2 January 1941 7 December 1941 [1]
Suspension of relations

Ambassadors, 1952–present

Incumbent Start of term End of term Notes
Haruhiko Nishi 10 September 1952 14 June 1955 [2]
Tadakatsu Suzuki 14 June 1955 11 March 1959 [3]
Katsushiro Narita March 1959 7 April 1961 [4]
Saburo Ohta 7 April 1961 30 December 1965 [5]
Koh Chiba 30 December 1965 18 August 1967 [6]
Fumihiko Kai 18 August 1967 5 December 1969 [7]
Shizuo Saito 5 December 1969 7 August 1973 [8]
Kenzo Yoshida 7 August 1973 20 January 1976 [9]
Yoshio Okawara 20 January 1976 February 1980 [10]
Mizuo Kuroda April 1980 October 1982 [11]
Kensuke Yanagiya 2 December 1982 December 1984 [12]
Toshijiro Nakajima December 1984 August 1987 [13]
Kenichi Yanagi November 1987 March 1990 [14]
Hiromu Fukada March 1990 7 February 1992 [15]
Kazutoshi Hasegawa 7 February 1992 1996 [16]
Yukio Satoh 1996 1998 [17]
Masaji Takahashi September 1998 January 2001 [18][19]
Atsushi Hatakenaka January 2001 September 2003
Kenzo Oshima September 2003 December 2004
Hideaki Ueda January 2005 September 2007
Takaaki Kojima September 2007 July 2010 [20]
Shigekazu Sato July 2010 November 2012
Yoshitaka Akimoto November 2012 April 2015
Sumio Kusaka April 2015 January 2019 [21]
Reiichiro Takahashi January 2019 December 2020 [22]
Shingo Yamagami February 2021 March 2023 [23]
Kazuhiro Suzuki March 2023 Present [24]

See also

References

  1. ^ "JAPAN'S' MINISTER TO AUSTRALIA". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 3 January 1941. p. 6. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  2. ^ "JAPAN NAMES AMBASSADOR TO CANBERRA". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 11 September 1952. p. 1. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  3. ^ "JAPAN NAMES NEW AMBASSADOR". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 15 June 1955. p. 2. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  4. ^ "AMBASSADOR DUE THIS MONTH". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 1 April 1959. p. 5. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  5. ^ "News In Brief". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 8 April 1961. p. 3. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Envoy here soon". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 31 December 1965. p. 3. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  7. ^ "Japanese envoy here soon". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 18 August 1967. p. 8. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Japanese envoy named". The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). ACT: National Library of Australia. 6 December 1969. p. 3. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  9. ^ "NEW JAPANESE ENVOY NAMED". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 8 August 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  10. ^ "IN BRIEF". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 8 March 1976. p. 3. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Japanese envoy to return home". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 17 September 1982. p. 3. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  12. ^ "Senior Japan posting for ambassador". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 13 December 1984. p. 15. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Ambassador moving". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 22 August 1987. p. 3. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  14. ^ "Ryan denies Irish envoy rumour". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 12 November 1987. p. 10. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  15. ^ "New ambassador". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 8 March 1990. p. 2. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  16. ^ "Japan appoints a new ambassador". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 8 February 1992. p. 3. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Yukio Sato - President of The Japan Institute of International Affairs". The Japan Institute of International Affairs. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  18. ^ Takahashi, Masaji (2004). "Diplomatic reflections: A Japanese view from Canberra". Japanese Studies. 24 (2): 177–179. doi:10.1080/1037139042000302483. S2CID 143045618.
  19. ^ "Government appoints new ambassador to Australia". The Japan Times. 1 September 1998. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  20. ^ "j trust co ltd (8508:Tokyo Stock Exchange) - Executive profile". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  21. ^ "New Ambassador of Japan: Sumio Kusaka". Australia Japan Business Co-operation Committee. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  22. ^ "Ambassador's first message".
  23. ^ "Shingo Yamagami's time in Canberra draws to a close" (PDF).
  24. ^ "Ambassador SUZUKI Kazuhiro's first message".