When the government dispatched Shiro Konuma to Ghana in December as the first official from the Foreign Ministry to join the U.N. health mission tackling the Ebola outbreak, he was somewhat surprised.
"I felt puzzled (to receive the assignment), but I also thought it should be my job as I have a doctor's license," the 47-year-old official said during a brief return to Tokyo.
"I worked in Ghana always keeping in mind that there are people to save," said Konuma, who now is assigned to the Japanese Embassy in South Africa following his three-month stint in Ghana.