| Post: | Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of the Philippines |
| Native Name: | 在フィリピン日本国大使 |
| Insignia: | File:Imperial_Seal_of_Japan.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 120px |
| Insigniacaption: | Imperial Seal of Japan |
| Incumbent: | Kazuya Endo |
| Style: | His Excellency |
| Seat: | 2627 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines[1] |
| Appointer: | Emperor of Japan |
| Termlength: | No fixed term |
| Website: | Japanese Embassy, Manila |
The Ambassador of Japan to the Philippines (Filipino; Pilipino: Sugo ng Hapon sa Pilipinas; Japanese: 在フィリピン日本国大使|translit=Zai Firipin Nippon Koku Taishi) is the head of the Japanese diplomatic mission in the Philippines and the official representative of the government of Japan to the government of the Philippines. The diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Japan began in 1888 when a Japanese consulate was established in Manila and in 1943, it elevated into an embassy, right after the inauguration of the Second Philippine Republic. The relations were suspended in 1945, after the surrender of Japan to the Allied forces and it remained dormant until 1952 when the Japanese government sent its minister to Manila. On July 23, 1956, the rank of ambassador was reestablished after the ratification of the Peace Treaty and Reparations Agreement between the Philippines and Japan.[2]
The embassy of Japan in the Philippines is based in Pasay City, Metro Manila.[3] The position has the rank of Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary.
| Head of mission | Tenure begins | Tenure ends | Japanese emperor | Japanese prime minister | Accredited during the Government of | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atsushi Kimura | 1931 | 1935 | (as Governor-General of the Philippines; later High Commissioner to the Philippines) | First Secretary of the Japanese Legation at Warsaw, Poland on May 4, 1935.[4] | ||
| Kiyoshi Uchiyama[5] [6] | 1935 | 1943 | Manuel L. Quezon (as President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines) | Credentials were presented on July 19, 1935. |
| Head of mission | Tenure begins | Tenure ends | Japanese emperor | Japanese prime minister | Philippine president | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | 1945 | Jose P. Laurel (as President of the Second Philippine Republic) Sergio Osmeña (as President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines) | ||||
| Diplomatic relations were suspended until 1952 due to the surrender of Japan to the Allied forces. The post was re-established in 1952 as minister plenipotentiary. In 1956, the post was elevated to ambassador status as the Philippines and Japan resumed their diplomatic relations as their friendship agreement was signed. | ||||||
| Tōru Nakagawa | 1952 | 1953 | Hirohito | Elpidio Quirino | ||
| 1953 | 1955 | Elpidio Quirino Ramon Magsaysay | ||||
| Kōichirō Asakai[7] | 1956 | 1957 | Ramon Magsaysay | Recalled to the home service on 17 June 1957.[8] | ||
| 1957 | 1961 | Nobusuke Kishi Hayato Ikeda | Carlos P. Garcia | |||
| Jun Tsuchiya | 1961 | 1962 | Hayato Ikeda Eisaku Satō | Diosdado Macapagal | ||
| Osamu Itagaki | 1962 | 1965 | Credentials were presented to Diosdado Macapagal on 6 June 1962.[9] | |||
| Harumi Takeuchi | 1965 | 1967 | Eisaku Satō Kakuei Tanaka | Ferdinand Marcos | ||
| Masao Kanazawa | 1967 | 1968 | ||||
| Takeshi Yasukawa | 1968 | 1969 | Conferred the Order of Sikatuna on 18 November 1969. | |||
| Toshio Urabe | 1969 | 1974 | Conferred the Order of Sikatuna on 16 July 1974. | |||
| Masao Sawaki | 1974 | 1977 | Takeo Miki Takeo Fukuda | |||
| Kiyohisa Miwa | 1977 | 1979 | Takeo Fukuda Masayoshi Ōhira Masayoshi Ito Zenkō Suzuki Yasuhiro Nakasone | |||
| Hideho Tanaka | 1980 | 1983 | ||||
| Yoshio Okawa | 1983 | 1985 | Yasuhiro Nakasone Noboru Takeshita | |||
| 1985 | 1988 | Conferred the Order of Sikatuna on 16 February 1988.[10] | ||||
| Tsuneo Tanaka[11] | 1988 | 1990 | Corazon Aquino | Conferred the Order of Sikatuna on 16 October 1990.[12] | ||
| Toshio Goto[13] | 1990 | 1992 | Akihito | Credentials were presented to Corazon Aquino on the week of November 4–11, 1990. | ||
| Hirokazu Arai | 1992 | 1994 | Corazon Aquino Fidel V. Ramos | |||
| Yoshifumi Matsuda | 1994 | 1996 | Tomiichi Murayama | Fidel V. Ramos | ||
| Hiroyuki Yushita[14] | 1996 | 1999 | Fidel V. Ramos Joseph Estrada | |||
| Yoshihisa Ara | 1999 | 2002 | Conferred the Order of Sikatuna on 15 April 2002. | |||
| Kojiro Takano | 2002 | 2004 | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | Conferred the Order of Sikatuna on 13 October 2004. | ||
| Ryuichiro Yamazaki | 2004 | 2007 | ||||
| Makoto Katsura | 2007 | 2011 | Credentials were presented to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on 2 October 2007.[15] | |||
| Toshinao Urabe | 2011 | 2014 | Yoshihiko Noda Shinzo Abe | Benigno S. Aquino III | ||
| Kazuhide Ishikawa | 2014 | 2017 | Shinzo Abe Yoshihide Suga | Credentials were presented to Benigno Aquino III on November 27, 2014.[16] | ||
| Kouji Haneda | 2017[17] [18] | 2020 | Rodrigo Duterte | Credentials were presented to Rodrigo Duterte on 25 October 2017.[19] | ||
| Kazuhiko Koshikawa | 2020[20] | 2024 | Naruhito | Credentials were presented to Rodrigo Duterte on 14 December 2020.[21] [22] | ||
| Kazuya Endo | 2024 | present | Fumio Kishida | Bongbong Marcos | Credentials were presented to Bongbong Marcos on 4 April 2024.[23] | |