The government appointed new ambassadors to East Timor, Sweden, Latvia, Luxembourg, Guatemala and Bolivia at a Cabinet meeting Friday.
Hideaki Asahi, 57, minister at the Japanese embassies in Indonesia and East Timor, was named Japan's first ambassador to East Timor.
Seiichiro Otsuka, 61, who served as ambassador to Sri Lanka between July 2000 and November 2003, was appointed ambassador concurrently to Sweden and Latvia.
Mitsuaki Kojima, 62, former ambassador to Nepal, was appointed ambassador to Luxembourg.
Heisuke Shinomiya, 61, counselor at the Japanese Embassy in Peru, was named ambassador to Guatemala. Mitsunori Shirakawa, 59, consul general at the Japanese Consulate in Barcelona, Spain, was appointed ambassador to Bolivia.