The government decided Tuesday on the appointments of seven ambassadors, including Ryozo Kato as ambassador to the United States and Masaki Orita as ambassador to Britain, Foreign Ministry officials said.
The appointments of Kato, former deputy vice foreign minister, Orita, former envoy to Denmark, and five others will take effect today.
Kato, 59, a Saitama native and University of Tokyo graduate, entered the Foreign Ministry in 1965. He headed the Foreign Policy Bureau and worked as deputy foreign minister in charge of political affairs before being assigned in August to the ministry secretariat.
Orita, a 59-year-old Tokyo native, served as head of the North American Affairs Bureau and as ambassador to Denmark and Lithuania before being named inspection official in June.
The new ambassador to Nigeria will be Akira Matsui, 60, who has been the ambassador to Kazakstan and became ambassador to Bulgaria in August 1998.
Zenji Kaminaga, 58, was named ambassador to Nepal. He was minister to India and to Indonesia before becoming ambassador to Oman in September 1998.
Satoshi Hara, 54, will be the ambassador to Brunei. He was formerly a consul general in Toronto from February 1999.
Toshimitsu Mori, 51, is to become ambassador to Kazakstan. He joined the ministry in 1972. He became a councilor in the European Affairs Bureau in January.
Ryo Takagi, 60, will become ambassador to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. He had previously worked in the General Affairs Division of the minister's secretariat, after which he was named minister to India in May 1997.