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Sasae likely to be next vice foreign minister

TOKYO, Japan - File photo shows Deputy Foreign Minister Kenichiro Sasae, who is likely to be the next vice foreign minister as of July 28, 2010, replacing Mitoji Yabunaka.

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Japanese diplomat visits Washington

WASHINGTON, United States - Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka speaks to reporters in front of the U.S. State Department in Washington on Jan. 5, 2010. The Foreign Ministry's top bureaucrat said the government is making final arrangements for an early visit by Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada to the United States.

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Bosworth meets Japan officials

TOKYO, Japan - Stephen Bosworth, top U.S. nuclear negotiator, is welcomed by Mitoji Yabunaka (L), Japanese vice foreign minister, at the Iikura guesthouse in Tokyo on Dec. 12, 2009. Bosworth briefed Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on his recent visit to North Korea.

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U.S. Ambassador Roos meets Yabunaka

TOKYO, Japan - New U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos (L) holds talks with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka at the Japanese Foreign Ministry on Aug. 20. (Pool photo)

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U.S. Ambassador Roos meets Yabunaka

TOKYO, Japan - New U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos (L) shakes hands with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka before their talks at the Japanese Foreign Ministry on Aug. 20. (Pool photo)

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Japan has much to lose from Takeshima reference: S. Korean envoy

TOKYO, Japan - South Korean Ambassador to Japan Kwon Chul Hyun (R) fields questions from reporters at the Japanese Foreign Ministry after talks with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka on July 15, one day after Japan decided to mention for the first time two islets disputed with S. Korea in a teaching guideline for junior high schools to help teachers deepen students' understanding of Japan's territory.

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Japan has much to lose from Takeshima reference: S. Korean envoy

TOKYO, Japan - South Korean Ambassador to Japan Kwon Chul Hyun (R) shakes hands with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka (L) at the Japanese Foreign Ministry on July 15. Kwon lodged a protest over Japan's decision to mention for the first time two islets disputed with S. Korea in a teaching guideline for junior high schools to help teachers deepen students' understanding of Japan's territory.

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Media center for G-8 summit opens

HOKKAIDO, Japan - (From L to R) Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi (2nd from L in center), Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura and Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka cut the tape July 5 in a ceremony to open the International Media Center in the village of Rusutsu in Hokkaido for the July 7-9 Group of Eight Summit to be held in the Lake Toya resort area in the northern Japan prefecture.

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Gov't deplores alleged rape, urges U.S. to prevent recurrence

TOKYO, Japan - Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka (L) meets with Joseph Donovan, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Japan, at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Feb. 12 over the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl by a U.S. Marine in Okinawa. Japan has lodged a protest with the United States over the incident and has called for thorough measures to prevent similar occurrences, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said.

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Japan to name Yabunaka vice FM, Fujisaki as envoy to U.S.

TOKYO, Japan - File photos show (from left to right) Deputy Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka who is expected to be named vice foreign minister, Ichiro Fujisaki, who will be named ambassador to the United States, and Shin Ebihara, who will is expected to be tapped as ambassador to Britain, government officials said on Dec. 27.

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Deputy foreign minister sent to Myanmar over death of Japanese

NARITA, Japan - Deputy Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka speaks to reporters at Narita International Airport, northeast of Tokyo, on Sept. 30 before heading for Myanmar to ask Myanmar's military junta to conduct a full-fledged investigation into the recent fatal shooting of Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai during clashes between security forces and pro-democracy demonstrators in Yangon.

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Yabunaka appointed deputy foreign minister

TOKYO, Japan - File photo shows Mitoji Yabunaka, who was appointed deputy foreign minister in charge of political affairs on Jan. 16. He replaces Tsuneo Nishida who was appointed as ambassador to Canada the same day.

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Japan aims for G-8 leaders' clear, strong message on N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Deputy Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka speaks in an interview with Kyodo News on July 10. He said Japan aims to have the Group of Eight leaders issue a clear and strong message condemning North Korea's recent missile launches, nuclear program and abduction of foreign nationals during the upcoming summit in St. Petersburg beginning on July 15.

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Medical records of abductee Megumi Yokota 'credible': official

TOKYO, Japan - Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, gives a briefing on the recent Japan-North Korea abduction talks during a meeting of the House of Councillors Special Committee on the North Korean Abduction Issue and Related Matters on Nov. 17. He said medical records provided by Pyongyang for Megumi Yokota, one of the Japanese abducted by North Korea who is allegedly dead, appear very credible.

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(1)Delegates report on findings about abductees in N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Mitoji Yabunaka, who represented Japan at the talks in Pyongyang on the Japanese abducted by North Korea, arrives at the Cabinet Office in Tokyo on Nov. 15 to brief families of the abductees on the result of the talks.

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Officials return with documents, belongings of abductees

TOKYO, Japan - A Japanese delegation, headed by Mitoji Yabunaka (C), director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, arrives at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Nov. 15 from Pyongyang after spending a week in North Korea on a fact-finding mission over the abductions of Japanese citizens.

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Japan, N. Korea to begin abduction talks in Pyongyang

BEIJING, China - Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, speaks to reporters at a Beijing hotel on Nov. 9 prior to departure for Pyongyang to resume talks with North Korea on the fates of Japanese victims of abduction by North Korean agents.

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Japan, China begin talks on gas exploration in E. China Sea

BEIJING, China - Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau (R), shakes hands with Cui Tiankai, director general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Asian Affairs Department, on Oct. 25 before talks to resolve a dispute over gas exploration projects in the East China Sea.

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Japan, S. Korea, U.S. agree on need for 6-way talks

TOKYO, Japan - South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo Hyuck (L), Japan, Mitoji Yabunaka (C), chief of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and U.S. Assistance Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly (R) pose for photographs after their meeting in Tokyo on Sept. 10. They agreed to continue calling on North Korea to accept a plan to hold the next round of six-party talks on its nuclear ambitions by the end of September.

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Japan, N. Korea may talk in Jakarta over Soga family reunion

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Mitoji Yabunaka, who heads the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, arrives in Jakarta for talks between Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and her North Korean counterpart, Paek Nam Sun. Yabunaka may meet Ma Chol Su, chief of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's Asian Affairs Department, to discuss the possibility of a family reunion in Indonesia for repatriated Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga and her family members who remain in North Korea as a preparatory meeting prior to the foreign ministers' talks.

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Japanese delegates to six-nation Beijing talks return home

NARITA, Japan - Mitoji Yabunaka (R), Japan's chief delegate to the six-nation talks in Beijing on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, and deputy delegation chief Akitaka Saiki arrive at Narita airport on June June 26.

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(2)6 countries agree on N. Korea nuke freeze, but set aside details

BEIJING, China - Mitoji Yabunaka, Japan's chief delegate to the just-ended six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, speaks with reporters at a Beijing hotel on June 26. (Pool photo)

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Yabunaka meets with Wang prior to 6-way talks

BEIJING, China - Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) and Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, pose for photos prior to their talks at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on June 23. They met before the start of the six-nation talks on North Korean nuclear ambitions later in the day.

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(4)Delegates to six-party talks arrive in Beijing

BEIJING, China - Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanic Affairs Bureau, answers reporters on arrival at a Beijing hotel June 22 to attend a third round of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions opening June 23. (Pool photo)

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Japan, China, S. Korea hold talks on 3-way alliance, N. Korea

HAKONE, Japan - Cui Tiankai (L), head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Asian Affairs Department, Mitoji Yabunaka (C), head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and Chung Sang Ki, head of the South Korean Foreign Ministry's Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau, join hands for photos at a resort hotel in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, on June 7 prior to their talks. They met to lay the groundwork for a trilateral foreign ministerial meeting which is planned for later this month.

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LDP panel calls for passage of bill banning N. Korean ships

TOKYO, Japan - Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, heads to a Liberal Democratic Party foreign affairs panel meeting in Tokyo May 25. Many lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Pyongyang May 22 and called for a bill to ban port calls by North Korean ships to be passed during the current Diet session.

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(3)Koizumi does not rule out another trip to N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Deputy Foreign Minister Hitoshi Tanaka (fore) and Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, emerge from a meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at the prime minister's office on May 6. The premier later did not rule out the possibility of his revisit to North Korea to bring the kin of five repatriated Japanese abductees to Japan.

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(1)Koizumi does not rule out another trip to N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, is surrounded by reporters as he enters the prime minister's office in Tokyo on May 6 to brief Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi about talks with North Korea in Beijing on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean agents.

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Japan, N. Korea end talks on abductions, agree to continue

BEIJING, China - Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, speaks with reporters at the end of two-day talks with North Korea on the abduction issue on the abduction issue on May 5. Yabunaka said, ''We held considerably in-depth discussions,'' but added they did not come to any agreement other than to continue the talks.

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Japan team leaves for Beijing for talks with N. Korea

NARITA, Japan - Deputy Foreign Minister Hitoshi Tanaka (R) and Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, leave Narita airport, northeast of Tokyo, for Beijing on May 4 for talks with North Korea on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North.

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Yabunaka to visit China for abduction talks with N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Senior Japanese diplomat Mitoji Yabunaka (file photo) will visit China shortly for talks with North Korean officials on bilateral matters focusing on the abduction issue, diplomatic sources said May 2.

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Abductees' kin want more Japan, U.S. pressure on N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Mitoji Yabunaka (far L, back), Japan's chief delegate at the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions in Beijing, briefs a group of relatives of Japanese abducted by N. Korea about the talks, in Tokyo on March 2. The group called on the Japanese and U.S. governments to increase pressure on Pyongyang for an early settlement of its claims in the abduction issue.

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Gov't renews resolve to seek March N. Korea talks

TOKYO, Japan - Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau and chief delegate to multilateral talks in Beijing on North Korea's nuclear programs that ended Feb. 28, is surrounded by reporters at the prime minister's office in Tokyo Feb. 29 after reporting to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda.

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(3)6 nations issue statement after 11th-hour wrangling

BEIJING, China - Mitoji Yabunaka, Japan's chief delegate to the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, listens to a speech by Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaozing during a closing ceremony at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing Feb. 28.

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(3)Third day of six-party talks on N. Korea

BEIJING, China - Mitoji Yabunaka, Japan's chief delegate to the six-party talks on N. Korea's nuclear program, leaves a Beijing hotel Feb. 27 to attend the third-day session of the talks.

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Yabunaka talks to reporters

BEIJING, China - Mitoji Yabunaka 2nd from L), head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanic Affairs Bureau, speaks to reporters at the end of the first-day session of six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program in Beijing on Feb. 25.

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(1)6-way talks on N. Korean nukes begin in Beijing

BEIJING, China - Senior diplomats from six countries -- (from L to R) U.S. Undersecretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo Hyuck, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov -- pose for a photo at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Feb. 25 before their talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program. (Pool photo)

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(4)6-way talks on N. Korean nukes begin in Beijing

BEIJING, China - Mitoji Yabunaka (R), director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, speaks during the second round of six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Feb. 25.

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Yabunaka in Beijing for 6-party talks on N. Korea

BEIJING, China - Mitoji Yabunaka (R), head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, walks into a Beijing hotel Feb. 23 without answering questions from eporters. He traveled to Beijing to attend six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear program.

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Japan, S. Korea, U.S. hold preparatory meeting on N. Korea nukes

SEOUL, South Korea - Mitoji Yabunaka (L), head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo Hyuck (C), and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly chat in Seoul on Feb. 23 before starting preparatory talks for six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear program scheduled to begin Feb. 25 in Beijing.

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Yabunaka arrives in Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea - Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, keeps mum on arrival at Kimpo airport in Seoul on Feb. 22. Japan, South Korea and the United States are scheduled to hold a preparatory meeting in Seoul on Feb. 23 for the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions to begin in Beijing on Feb. 25.

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Japan to take up issues of possible abductees by N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Mitoji Yabunaka, head of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, briefs a lower house panel about bilateral negotiations he took part in last week in Pyongyang. He said Japan has told North Korea that it intends to take up the issue of missing Japanese people it believes may have been abducted by North Korea.

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(2)Diplomat briefs abductees' relatives on Pyongyang talks

TOKYO, Japan - Mitoji Yabunaka (2nd from L, back), head of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, in Tokyo on Feb. 16 briefs a group of people whose relatives were abducted by North Korea on the outcome of talks in Pyongyang on the abduction issue. Yabunaka visited Pyongyang on Feb. 11-14 with Deputy Foreign Minister Hitoshi Tanaka.

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Diplomat briefs abductees' relatives on outcome of Pyongyang talks

TOKYO, Japan - Mitoji Yabunaka (R), head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, chats with Shigeru Yokota, the representative of a group of families of those abducted by North Korea, in Tokyo on Feb. 16 before giving group members a briefing on the outcome of talks in Pyongyang on the abduction issue. Yabunaka, together with Deputy Foreign Minister Hitoshi Tanaka, visited Pyongyang Feb. 11-14.

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(2)Koizumi briefed on talks with N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Deputy Foreign Minister Hitoshi Tanaka leaves a Tokyo hotel on Feb. 15 after briefing Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on the results of negotiations with North Korean officials to settle the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by that country. Tanaka and Mitoji Yabunaka, head of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, returned from Pyongyang the previous day after their talks.

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(1)Koizumi briefed on talks with N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi leaves a Tokyo hotel on Feb. 15 after he was briefed by two diplomats on the results of their negotiations with North Korean officials to settle the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by that country. Deputy Foreign Minister Hitoshi Tanaka and Mitoji Yabunaka, head of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, returned from Pyongyang the previous day after the talks.

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(2)Japan, N. Korea to continue talks on abduction issue

NARITA, Japan - Mitoji Yabunaka, chief of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, responds to questions from reporters at Narita airport on Feb. 14 after negotiations with North Korea on the abduction issue in Pyongyang. The countries agreed to continue talks on the issue without reaching any agreements.

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N. Korea agrees to hold 6-way talks in early 2004

SEOUL, South Korea - (From L to R) Fu Ying, head of Asian affairs at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo Hyuck, and Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, shake hands in Seoul on Dec. 29 prior to their talks on a second round of six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear arms program. Fu reportedly said N. Korea has agreed to hold a second round of talks at an early date next year.

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Japan, U.S. begin meeting to prep for 6-way talks on N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly (L) and Mitoji Yabunaka, head of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, shake hands Nov. 17 in Tokyo before their talks to prepare for the second round of six-nation negotiations on North Korea's nuclear arms program.

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Trilateral talks on N. Korea end without decision on KEDO

TOKYO, Japan - South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo Hyuck (R), Mitoji Yabunaka, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau (C) and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly greet each other before beginning a second and final day of talks on North Korean nuclear development programs. They ended the meeting without reaching agreement on the suspension of an international project to construct two light-water nuclear reactors in the North.