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Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has appointed Kazuhiro Nakai as the new Consul General of the Consulate-General of Japan in Miami. Mr. Nakai replaces Kenji Hirata, who was appointed to the post in 2018.
A seasoned diplomat, Nakai has served the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more than three decades and has extensive experience in the areas of culture, education, security, disarmament and non-proliferation.
“I’m deeply honored to represent Japan as the new Consul General in Miami,” Nakai said. “I want to work hard to ensure that our diplomatic and trading relationship with Florida remains strong, despite challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to affect our economies. I am proud to say that, currently, more than 140 Japanese companies have a presence in Florida and we are the largest investors in the state in terms of property, plant and equipment, employing over 24,000 people.”
Immediately prior to his appointment to Florida, Nakai held the post of minister and deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Delegation to the Conference of Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland. During his tenure, he served as chair of the Meeting of Experts of the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention. His work in this area includes serving as deputy director of Japan’s Diet Research Bureau of Security/International Terrorism Division (2008-10), director of the Biological Weapons Convention and Chemical Weapons Division in Tokyo (2003-04) and deputy director of the Non-Proliferation Division (1994-97).
While serving as Director of International Education at Japan’s Ministry of Education from 2010 to 2012, Nakai was responsible for the complete overhaul of the foreign language curriculum that included introducing English language courses at the elementary level and mandating high school English language courses be conducted only in English. He built an important foundation for his responsibilities leading this transition from a translation-oriented foreign language educational approach to one that is communications oriented during his prior service as director of the Cultural Affairs Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In addition to his tenure in Geneva, Nakai’s has represented Japan in many international postings including those in Kenya, Cambodia, Canada, Pakistan, Kuwait and New Zealand.
Nakai received a MA degree in PPE (Politics, Philosophy and Economics) at the University of Oxford. Prior to that, he received a bachelor’s degree in foreign studies from Sophia University in Tokyo.
For more information about the Consulate and its mission, visit www.miami.us.emb-japan.go.jp.
