Kōichirō Asakai

Kōichirō Asakai (Japanese: 朝海浩一郎; 1906–1995)[1]: 199  was a Japanese politician who served as ambassador to the United States and ambassador to the Philippines

Asakai studied banking and graduated from Hitotsubashi University in 1929, before joining the Foreign Ministry.[1]: 199  He was taught English by Edward Gauntlett, an English language teacher from Wales.[1]: 199  From 1929 until 1931, he studied law at the University of Edinburgh.[1]: 199  He became an attaché in the Japanese mission in London, and was posted to Nanjing before returning to the Foreign Ministry.[1]: 199 

He was bureau chief of the Central Liaison Office from March 1946.[2][1]: 199  During this time, he attended meetings of the Allied Council for Japan as an "observer" and the sole diplomat.[1]: 199  In August 1951, he was appointed the first head of the Japanese Government Overseas Agency in London.[1]: 200  He was assisted in his work by the Japan Society of London, which had been set up two years prior.[1]: 200 

In 1956, Asakai was appointed the first post-war Japanese ambassador to the Philippines.[3]

In June 1957, he was appointed as the Japanese ambassador to the United States.[4] He left the position in the winter of 1963,[5] and was succeeded by Ryūji Takeuchi.[6]

Personal life

In 1936, he married Takako Debuchi[7] the daughter of Katsuji Debuchi, a former ambassador to the United States. They had three sons[3] and a daughter Akiko Asakai.[8]

References
  1. Nish, Ian, ed. (10 May 2007). Japanese envoys in Britain, 1862-1964 : a century of diplomatic exchange. Global Oriental. ISBN 978-19-05-24632-8.
  2. Eldridge, Robert D. (2013). The Origins of the Bilateral Okinawa Problem: Okinawa in Postwar US-Japan Relations, 1945-1952. Routledge. p. 155. ISBN 978-1-136-71211-1. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  3. ""Japan Resents A-Tests" Asakai". The Huntsville Times. July 20, 1962. p. 5. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  4. "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Japan, Volume XXIII, Part 1 - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  5. "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XXII, Northeast Asia - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  6. "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XXII, Northeast Asia - Office of the Historian - 375. Memorandum of Conversation". history.state.gov. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  7. "出淵勝次", Wikipedia (in Japanese), 2023-01-15, retrieved 2023-02-14
  8. "1960 Press Photo Ambassador Koichiro Asakai, daughter light Japanese lantern, DC". eBay. Retrieved 2023-02-14. Akiko Asakai, daughter of Japanese Ambassador Koichiro Asakai...
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