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Koji Tomita

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Japanese diplomat (born 1957)
His ExcellencyKoji Tomita
冨田 浩司
Japanese Ambassador to the United States
In office
December 25, 2020 – October 24, 2023
Prime MinisterYoshihide Suga
Fumio Kishida
Preceded byShinsuke Sugiyama
Succeeded byShigeo Yamada
Personal details
Born (1957-11-08) November 8, 1957 (age 67)
Fukuoka, Japan

Koji Tomita (冨田 浩司, Tomita Kōji, born 8 November 1957) is a Japanese diplomat who served as Japanese ambassador to the United States from 2020 to 2023. He previously served as ambassador to South Korea and Israel.

Career

Koji Tomita was born on 8 November 1957, in Fukuoka, but grew up in Hyogo prefecture. He studied law at University of Tokyo and also studied as an exchange student for a year at Davidson College in the United States. Tomita joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after graduating 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.

Tomita's diplomatic career includes postings at the OECD Delegation in Paris and at the Japanese embassies in South Korea and the United Kingdom. In June 2012 he became minister and deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Japan to the United States. After returning to Japan in June 2013 he was chief of the North American Bureau in the Ministry. In November 2015 he was appointed Ambassador to Israel and served until June 2018, after which he acted as Japan's sherpa for the 2018 G20 summit. In October the following year he was appointed Ambassador to South Korea.

Tomita was appointed Ambassador to the United States in December 2020. In an interview, he stated his familiarity with Obama-era officials led to his appointment as ambassador after the election of Joe Biden.

Tomita was replaced as ambassador in October 2023 and retired from public service. He was employed as adviser to the Mori Hamada & Matsumoto law firm in May 2024.

Personal life

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

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.

References

  1. "Japanese Ambassador Returns to the Start of His Diplomatic Path: Davidson College". Davidson College. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  2. "Japan – A Time of Transition". Diplomatic Connections. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the United States of America". Embassy of Japan in the United States of America. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023.
  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 names Yamada as ambassador to U.S., Kanasugi to China". Kyodo News. Tokyo. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  6. "Koji Tomita, former Ambassador to the United States of America, becomes an adviser". Mori Hamada & Matsumoto. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  7. "Japan to tap South Korea envoy Koji Tomita as U.S. ambassador". Kyodo News. Dec 7, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  8. ^ "Ambassador Tomita Bio". Japan-America Society of Houston. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  9. "山本七平賞受賞作品一覧". PHP Institute, Inc. (in Japanese). Retrieved May 24, 2021.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded byShinsuke Sugiyama Japanese Ambassador to the United States
2020–2023 		Succeeded byShigeo Yamada
Preceded byYasumasa Nagamine Japanese Ambassador to South Korea
2019–2020 		Succeeded byKōichi Aiboshi
Preceded byShigeo Matsutomi Japanese Ambassador to Israel
2015–2018
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