Translator and writer Jun Hoshikawa has been appointed executive director of Greenpeace Japan, the nongovernmental organization announced Monday.

The 53-year-old Tokyo native, who took up the post Dec. 1, said in a written statement the group will work toward a green, sustainable world, and one of peace. He also expressed his resolve to make the organization "more deeply rooted in Japanese society."

He has lived since 1982 on Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, which is on the World Heritage List.