University of Tokyo Vice President Akihiko Tanaka will head the Japan International Cooperation Agency from this spring, replacing Sadako Ogata, Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba said Tuesday.
Tanaka, 57, a well-known professor of international politics at the university, will take up the top post at JICA on April 1, Genba told reporters after a Cabinet meeting. Ogata had requested replacement, as she has expressed concern about her advancing years, the minister said.
Genba praised the achievements of the 84-year-old former U.N. high commissioner for refugees since she became head of JICA in 2003, saying her contributions have been “greatly appreciated by the international community and have led to Japan’s high standing” in the field of development assistance.
Tanaka, who received a Ph.D. in political science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981, has been part of numerous government panels on foreign and security affairs in recent years.