The Japanese government on Monday named Tetsuya Kimura, consul general in Munich, Germany, as its new deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, effective immediately.
Kimura, 58, joins U.N. Ambassador Kimihiro Ishikane and fellow Deputy Permanent Representative Takeshi Osuga at a time when the international community is scrambling to respond to the novel coronavirus and subsequent economic downturn.
Since joining the Foreign Ministry in 1986, Kimura has served at the Japanese Embassy in Germany, in lower-level positions at Japan's permanent mission to the United Nations and as a senior official at the Japan Sports Agency.
He replaces Toshiya Hoshino, a former professor and vice president at Osaka University.