Koji Tomita

Koji Tomita (冨田 浩司, Tomita Kōji) is a Japanese diplomat who currently serves as Japanese ambassador to the United States.

His Excellency
Koji Tomita
Japanese Ambassador to the United States
Assumed office
December 25, 2020
Prime MinisterYoshihide Suga
Fumio Kishida
Preceded byShinsuke Sugiyama
Personal details
Born (1957-11-08) November 8, 1957
Fukuoka, Japan

Career

Tomita was born in Fukuoka in 1957 and grew up in Hyogo prefecture. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after graduating from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo in 1981. After joining the Ministry he was sent to Oxford University for two years to receive training in the English language and international politics.[1]

His career as a diplomat included a previous tour in Washington during the administration of Barack Obama, as well as previous ambassadorships to Israel and South Korea.[2] On 28 April 2015, he was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by Obama in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s honor at the White House.[3] In an interview, he said his familiarity with Obama-era officials led to his reappointment as ambassador after the election of Joe Biden.[4]

Personal life

His wife, Noriko, is the daughter of the author Yukio Mishima. They have a son and two daughters.[5][6]

Tomita has published two books in Japanese on British prime ministers Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, the latter of which received the Shichihei Yamamoto Award in 2019.[6][7]

References
  1. "Japan – A Time of Transition". Diplomatic Connections. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  2. "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the United States of America". Embassy of Japan in the United States of America. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  3. Veronica Toney (28 April 2015), Complete guest list for the state dinner honoring Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Washington Post.
  4. Luxner, Larry (5 April 2022). "Japan's envoy Koji Tomita kicks off revived Ambassador Insider Series". Washington Diplomat. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  5. "Japan to tap South Korea envoy Koji Tomita as U.S. ambassador". Kyodo News. Dec 7, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  6. "Ambassador Tomita Bio". Japan-America Society of Houston. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  7. "山本七平賞受賞作品一覧". PHP Institute, Inc. (in Japanese). Retrieved May 24, 2021.
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