{"id":1738,"date":"2020-04-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=1738"},"modified":"2020-06-12T15:16:16","modified_gmt":"2020-06-12T15:16:16","slug":"yukio-okamoto-diplomat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=1738","title":{"rendered":"Yukio Okamoto, diplomat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Yukio Okamoto a Japanese diplomat, diplomatic analyst, and proponent of strong economic and political Japan\u2013United States relations died from pneumonia caused by novel COVID-19 at a Tokyo hospital on April 24, 2020, at the age of 75.\n<\/p>\n

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Okamoto guided Japanese and American diplomatic relations throughout the 1980s, during an era when both countries simultaneously competed for economic influence on the global stage. He served as a diplomatic advisor and analyst for several Japanese prime ministers, including Ryutaro Hashimoto from 1996 to 1998 and Junichiro Koizumi from 2003 until 2004.\n<\/p>\n

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Biography\n<\/p>\n

Okamoto was a native of Kanagawa Prefecture.\n<\/p>\n

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He joined the Japanese Foreign Ministry in 1968, where he worked for more than 20 years. He was posted to diplomatic missions in Paris, Cairo and Washington D.C. Okamoto rose to become the director of the foreign ministry’s First North America Division, which guided U.S.-Japanese relations.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Okamoto left his job in Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the private sector in 1991, a rare move for a senior Japanese diplomat. He established his own political and economic consulting agency, Okamoto Associates Inc.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

However, he remained a leading figure within Japanese-American diplomatic and political circles. He closely advised Japanese prime ministers on some their most sensitive bilateral issues, ranging from the controversial U.S. military bases on Okinawa to the commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of World War II in 2015.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Okamoto served as an adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto from 1996 to 1998. Hashimoto appointed Okamoto as the head of issues related to the island of Okinawa. Okamoto mediated negotiations between the Japanese government and the Okinawa Prefecture’s government over issues affecting the island, including the economy and the proposed relocation of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Okamoto was also an advisor to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi from 2003 until 2004. Under Koizumi, Okamoto oversaw preparations for Japan’s reconstruction efforts following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Okamoto was appointed to an advisory panel which helped draft Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s speech marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in 2015. Abe ultimately did not include a new apology, but did uphold past condolences issued by previous Japanese governments.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He taught at Ritsumeikan University and other Japanese universities. He was also appointed as a senior research fellow at the MIT Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Okamoto, who was fluent in English, continued to lobby for close American and Japanese bilateral relations, as well as Japan’s foreign policy positions on the world stage. He appeared in interviews and gave public lectures in both countries. He also authored articles, books, and op-eds, including in the New York Times\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yukio Okamoto a Japanese diplomat, diplomatic analyst, and proponent of strong economic and political Japan\u2013United States relations died from pneumonia caused by novel COVID-19 at a Tokyo hospital on April 24, 2020, at the age of 75. Okamoto guided Japanese and American diplomatic relations throughout the 1980s, during an era when both countries simultaneously competed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[47,887,7019],"tags":[890],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/wp-content\/uploads\/imageholder\/uploads\/Yukio_Okamoto.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2074,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=2074","url_meta":{"origin":1738,"position":0},"title":"Erik Jean Christian Antoine Belfrage, diplomat and businessman","date":"April 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Erik Jean Christian Antoine Belfrage \u2011 a Swedish diplomat, banking executive, and political consultant \u2011 died at Saint G\u00f6ran Hospital in Stockholm due to COVID\u201119 on 18 April 2020. \u00a0 Belfrage was the son of diplomat Kurt-Allan Belfrage and his wife, Ren\u00e9e France Paule Puaux. His brother, Frank Belfrage, is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "High Profilers"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3028,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=3028","url_meta":{"origin":1738,"position":1},"title":"Brian Crowe, diplomat","date":"March 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Sir Brian Crowe \u2011 a British diplomat, who was Ambassador to Austria, 1989\u20131992 \u2011 died on 23 March 2020 with COVID-19. \u00a0 He was born on 5 January 1938, the son of Eric Crowe, a diplomat, and Virginia Teusler. His grandfather was Sir Eyre Crowe. He was educated at Sherborne\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Noteworthy"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2820,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=2820","url_meta":{"origin":1738,"position":2},"title":"Hossein Sheikholeslam, politician & diplomat","date":"March 6, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Hossein Sheikholeslam \u2013an Iranian conservative politician and diplomat who was advisor to the foreign minister Javad Zarif \u2013 died on 5 March 2020 from coronavirus. He also was a member of the Seventh Islamic Parliament of Iran and previously the Iranian ambassador to Syria. Sheikholeslam was Assistant to the parliament\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "High Profilers"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3089,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=3089","url_meta":{"origin":1738,"position":3},"title":"Steven Dick, diplomat","date":"March 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Steven Dick \u2011 a British diplomat who was the deputy head of mission at the British Embassy in Budapest \u2013 died from Covid-19 on 24 March 2020. \u00a0 Dick joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2008 and had served in Kabul and Riyadh. \u00a0 Dick arrived in Hungary in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Noteworthy"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3623,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=3623","url_meta":{"origin":1738,"position":4},"title":"Hans Prade, diplomat & politician","date":"April 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Hans Orlando Prade, a Surinamese diplomat and politician, died on 3 April 2020 due to coronavirus. After graduating from Leiden University, Prade returned to Suriname, and founded the short lived Nationale Volkspartij together with Ronald Venetiaan. Later Prade became a member of the Progressieve Nationale Partij. During the coup, Prade\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "High Profilers"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8785,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=8785","url_meta":{"origin":1738,"position":5},"title":"Laura Bernal, diplomat","date":"April 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Laura Bernal \u2011 an Argentine diplomat \u2013 passed away on 26 April 2020 after contracting Covid-19. She served as Argentina's ambassador to Ireland from 2016 until her sudden death in 2020. She was present in the country for her compatriot Pope Francis's visit to Ireland as part of World Meeting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Argentina"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1738"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1738"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6082,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1738\/revisions\/6082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}