Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Tuesday appointed former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone as his special adviser on diplomatic affairs, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa said.
Nakasone, an 82-year-old veteran lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, will join 63-year-old former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto in the unofficial position. Nakasone was quoted as saying that he would like to contribute to Japan's diplomacy jointly with Hashimoto.
There is no special reason for the appointment at this time, Nakagawa told a regular news conference.
Hashimoto, who was named diplomatic adviser to the prime minister by the late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi in August 1998, helped Obuchi and has been helping his successor, Mori, particularly on Russian relations.