Japan will open two new embassies on Jan. 1, in Benin and Rwanda, while upgrading facilities in Palau, Estonia and Kyrgyzstan to missions with posted ambassadors, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.

The new embassies were approved in the 2009 budget and will bring the total number of Japanese embassies worldwide to 133, a Foreign Ministry official said.

Japan has grown an interest in Kyrgyzstan and Rwanda recently because of their abundant natural resources.

Palau is pro-Japan, and about 29,000 Japanese tourists visited the Pacific island country in 2007.