On Wednesday, Governor de Jongh was pleased to meet with Japan’s Consul General in New York, Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki, at Government House. 

From right to left: Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr., Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki, Consul Yasuyuki Matsui, Political Affairs Division, and Chief of Staff to the Governor Pamela Berkowsky at Government House, February 1, 2012.

“It was a pleasure to host Ambassador Hiroki, especially given my recent signing of our Tsunami Annex agreement to our Territorial Emergency Plan and the challenges we are facing with the closing of the HOVENSA oil refinery. Ambassador Hiroki was an essential participant in Japan’s recovery efforts after its tsunami in March 2011. We also discussed the opportunities for broadening our tourism outreach to the Japanese-American community,” the governor said.

Ambassador Hiroki began his diplomatic career in 1979 and has held many important positions in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including national security policy; developing Japan-Korea relations; managing Ministry budgetary affairs; and supervising Japanese foreign policy toward Europe. In the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, he led the crisis management team in Tokyo as director of the consular policy division. 
Ambassador Hiroki has served at several posts abroad, including as Second Secretary in The Hague, Netherlands; Economics Minister in London, England; Ambassador in Charge of UN affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Ambassador to Afghanistan. This is Ambassador Hiroki’s first visit to the Virgin Islands.