Japan names ambassadors to Azerbaijan, 5 other countries

TOKYO, March 27 Kyodo - The Japanese government on Friday named new ambassadors to Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, Slovakia and Sudan, effective Monday. Junichi Wada, 56, will become the top envoy to Azerbaijan, having worked at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as well as embassies in Vietnam and Australia. The ambassador to Bulgaria, Hiroshi Narahira, 61, was at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and also did a stint at the embassy in Britain. Shuji Noguchi, 59, who will double as the ambassador to Gabon on the west coast of Africa and the nearby island nation of Sao Tome and Principe, has served at the embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the consulate general in Marseille, France. The top envoy to Slovakia, Makoto Nakagawa, 60, has worked at the Finance Ministry and international organizations including the International Monetary Fund. Takashi Hattori, 65, will become the ambassador to Sudan after a four-decade career at Toyota Tsusho Corp. ==Kyodo