Yoshio Ōkawara

Yoshio Ōkawara was born in Annaka in 1919 and joined the Foreign Ministry after studying law at Tokyo Imperial University. Military service interrupted his diplomatic career: he served at the Japanese naval headquarters at Rabaul and, after the war, worked in liaison with the Australians before returning to Japan in 1947. He subsequently studied in the United States and served in London and the Philippines. ¹

Ōkawara's later career centered on relations with the United States. He served as minister in Washington and director general of the American Affairs Bureau before becoming ambassador to Australia and then ambassador to the United States from 1980 to 1985. On October 30, 1981, he and Richard T. Kennedy signed a joint determination allowing continued reprocessing of American origin nuclear material at Japan's Tokai facility. The arrangement relaxed earlier quantity restrictions while the governments worked toward a longer term framework. ^{1, 2, 3}

After government service, Ōkawara continued to write about Asian security as president of the Institute for International Policy Studies. In a 2007 essay he advocated sustained dialogue with China, stronger regional security institutions, and a trilateral conversation involving Japan, China, and the United States. He also urged cooperation on energy, the environment, and historical research. ³