Takeuchi to become Japanese deputy FM

Takeuchi to become Japanese deputy FM

Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The promotion of the Japanese ambassador to Indonesia, Yukio
Takeuchi, to the second-highest position in Japan's Foreign
Ministry would provide strong benefits for relations between the
two countries, a Japanese diplomat said on Thursday.

Koji Tsuruoka, a minister at the embassy, said Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi was impressed with the 59-year-old diplomat's
achievements during his 11 months in Jakarta and was personally
involved in Takeuchi's appointment as vice foreign minister.

The ambassador acted as Koizumi's chief advisor during
meetings with President Megawati Soekarnoputri in Jakarta last
month and in Tokyo last September.

"The promotion of ambassador Takeuchi to such a high position
is a symbol of the importance of our two countries' ties,"
Tsuruoka told The Jakarta Post.

In Tokyo last Thursday, newly-appointed Japanese Foreign
Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi announced Takeuchi's promotion to
replace Yoshiji Nogami.

Koizumi had fired then foreign minister Makiko Tanaka and
Nogami late last month following Tanaka's prolonged confrontation
with officials at her ministry.

"I picked him (Takeuchi) because he is reform-minded and is
capable of gaining consensus within the ministry as it continues
internal reforms," Yomiuri Shimbun quoted the foreign minister as
saying.

A graduate from Kyoto University and Oxford University in the
1960s, Takeuchi joined the Foreign Ministry in 1967. Included in
a list of various overseas postings, was his first stint with the
Japanese Embassy in Jakarta during the early 1980s. The youngest
of his two sons was born in Jakarta.

In 1991 Takeuchi served as the private secretary to then prime
minister Kiichi Miyazawa. His position before assuming his post
in Jakarta last year was deputy vice minister for foreign policy.

Meanwhile, the outgoing ambassador and his wife Sumiko, hosted
a farewell party on Wednesday night. Guests included Minister of
Agriculture Bungaran Saragih, whose wife is Japanese, and former
minister of foreign affairs Ali Alatas.