Japan names new envoys to Thailand, Singapore, other nations+

TOKYO, Aug. 20 Kyodo - The Japanese government on Friday named Seiji Kojima, 62, chief of protocol at the Foreign Ministry, as the country's new ambassador to Thailand, and Yoichi Suzuki, 59, chief of the Economic Affairs Bureau, as envoy to Singapore.

The Cabinet also endorsed the postings of ambassadors to Vietnam, New Zealand,
Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Syria, Denmark, Myanmar
and other countries.
Yasuaki Tanizaki, 58, director general of the ministry's European Affairs
Bureau, was named new ambassador to Vietnam, while Japanese Ambassador to
Zambia Hideto Mitamura, 62, will become envoy to New Zealand.
Japan's Ambassador to Portugal Akira Miwa, 60, was named envoy to Brazil, while
his successor will be Nobutaka Shinomiya, 60, the country's ambassador to the
Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Takashi Koezuka, 61, of the foreign minister's Secretariat, was appointed as
new ambassador to the Netherlands, and Yuzo Harada, 60, former senior counselor
at Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd. as envoy to Kazakhstan.
Kenjiro Monji, 58, director general of the ministry's Public Diplomacy
Department, will be ambassador to Qatar, while Toshiro Suzuki, 56, director
general of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau, will become envoy to
Syria.
Toshio Sano, 58, director general of the ministry's disarmament,
nonproliferation and science department, was named envoy to Denmark, and
Takashi Saito, 61, envoy to Senegal, Cape Verde, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau was
appointed as ambassador to Myanmar.
==Kyodo