Former Vice Foreign Minister Shunji Yanai on Tuesday was officially appointed as the new ambassador to the United States, replacing Kunihiko Saito, who will be retiring from the Foreign Ministry.

Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura made the announcement after the Cabinet endorsed the appointment Tuesday morning.

The appointment is to take effect today.

Yanai, 62, joined the ministry in 1961. He became vice foreign minister in 1997 after serving as head of the Foreign Policy Bureau and a deputy foreign minister in charge of political affairs.

In a major reshuffle of ambassadorial and senior ministry posts last month, Yanai was replaced by Yutaka Kawashima, a former ambassador to Israel, and became a ministry adviser.

Also on Tuesday, the government named Takaji Kunimatsu, 62, former director general of the National Police Agency, as ambassador to Switzerland.

Shigeo Takenaka, 58, former immigration bureau chief at the Justice Ministry, was appointed ambassador to Turkey, while Nobuyasu Abe, 53, director general for arms control and scientific affairs at the Foreign Ministry, was named ambassador to international organizations in Vienna.

Marohito Hanada, 61, consul general in Shenyang, China, will become ambassador to Mongolia.