Sadao Iguchi

Sadao Iguchi entered the Foreign Ministry in 1922 after studying at Tokyo University of Commerce. His prewar career took him to Britain, China, and the United States. As counselor in Washington in 1941, he assisted Ambassador Kichisaburō Nomura in negotiations with the United States. He later held research and information posts and headed a division of the wartime Board of Information. ¹

After the war, Iguchi worked in the Central Liaison Office and was then barred from public service. He returned to the ministry as vice minister in 1951, working on the San Francisco peace settlement, and subsequently became ambassador to Canada and then the United States. ¹

His Washington assignment confronted the diplomatic consequences of radioactive fallout on Japanese fishermen in 1954. In April, American officials complained to Iguchi about Japanese doctors' criticism of their response. Iguchi explained that some Japanese believed an American physician had shown insufficient sympathy to the patients, while promising to convey Washington's concerns to Tokyo. The discussion also addressed medical cooperation and the effect of the dispute on Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida's planned American visit. ²

Iguchi later served as ambassador to the Republic of China on Taiwan from 1959 to 1962. He died in 1980. ¹