Citing improving security in Mali, Japan reopened its embassy in Bamako on Wednesday after a nearly eight-month closure, the Foreign Ministry said.

Clashes between government forces and Islamist rebels had prompted France, the country's former colonial power, to intervene militarily in January.

A new president was elected in August after the provisional government and rebel forces reached an agreement to hold an election.

Following the temporary closure of the diplomatic mission in the Malian capital on Jan. 28, embassy staff continued work out of the Japanese Embassy in Paris.