Japan on Tuesday named its new ambassador to the United States — veteran diplomat Shigeo Yamada, who has been key in steering Tokyo's "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" strategy under the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The announcement was one of a spate of diplomatic appointments, with Tokyo also saying that it had tapped former Foreign Ministry top bureaucrat and Asian affairs chief Kenji Kanasugi as its new envoy to China.
The appointments of new ambassadors to the U.S., its top security partner, and China, its top trade partner, come amid growing rivalry between Washington and Beijing. Japan has walked a fine line in its relationships with the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 economies, building up defense cooperation with the U.S. while also looking to ease strained ties with China.