Feb 28

JapanInfo Flash: Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki Assumes Post in New York

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An announcement from the Consulate General of Japan in New York:

Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki Assumes Post

On February 25, Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki arrived from Tokyo and began his official duties as Consul General of Japan in New York. His first stop after departing the airport was the former World Trade Center site, where he paid his respects to all those lost on September 11, 2001.

As Japan’s ambassador to Afghanistan for the past year and a half, Ambassador Hiroki has been at the frontlines of the international community’s efforts, together with the United States, to promote peace and security in that war-ravaged region. To date, Japan has implemented approximately one billion of a total five billion dollar commitment in humanitarian and reconstruction aid for the people of Afghanistan.

As former head of the 9/11 crisis management team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo, Ambassador Hiroki is dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of Japanese visitors and residents in New York. In fact, New York City holds a very special place for Ambassador Hiroki. He was stationed here for several years in the 1990s. As a consul in the Consulate’s political section, his duties included arranging a visit by their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Japan to the city. In his welcome message to the New York community, the Ambassador remarked, “This great city is a vibrant center of the political, economic and cultural ties that make up the Japan-US relationship. With your help and understanding, I look forward to doing my part to further the development of a strong Japan-US partnership in New York.”

Ambassador Hiroki’s extensive diplomatic career began in 1979, and he has held various responsibilities at the Ministry in Tokyo and around the globe, including planning Japan’s security policy, developing Japan-Korea relations, managing MOFA budgetary affairs and overseeing Japan’s foreign policy toward Europe. His other overseas assignments include The Hague in the Netherlands and London, UK.

Ambassador Hiroki’s close personal ties with the US were shaped by his formative experience as a young AFS exchange student at a Milwaukee, Wisconsin area high school. He later served as chair of the 29th Japan-America Student Conference (JASC) and was a graduate student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Ambassador is married to Mamiko Hiroki, an English teacher at a Japanese high school and graduate of Columbia University. They have two daughters. Ambassador Hiroki enjoys tennis and practicing tea ceremony in his spare time. He is looking forward to building upon the success of his predecessor, Ambassador Nishimiya, and doing his part to foster mutual understanding and strong bonds of friendship and cooperation between the people of Japan and New York City.