Born in 1937 in Japan, he studied law and economics in Tokyo and in the United States. He began his career as a diplomat in 1961 as the Third Secretary of the Ambassy of Japan in Ghana. Between 1974 and 1992, he occupied various positions within the Foreign Office. In 1994, he was appointed Ambassador of Japan to France, and was then elected Director General of the Unesco in 1999, for 6 years. He was reelected on october 2005. Among his writings is
Japanese Diplomacy at the Dawn of the 21st Century (in French – 1998, Publications Orientalistes de France).