is the current Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)

The of Japan is the Cabinet member responsible for Japanese foreign policy and the chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Since the end of the American occupation of Japan, the position has been one of the most powerful in the Cabinet, as Japan's economic interests have long relied on...

 in charge of administration. Prior to his current position, Yabunaka served as Ministry of Foreign Affair's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Director-General. He has been a diplomat for nearly forty years.

Diplomacy

Before entering government service, Yabanuka was a senior researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies

International Institute for Strategic Studies

The International Institute for Strategic Studies is a British research institute in the area of international affairs. It describes itself as "the world’s leading authority on political-military conflict"...

 from 1990-1991. Yabunaka became Consul General from Japan to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1998, and visited the country on several occasions.

Yabunaka has represented Japan on a number of occasions, and has negotiated trade deals with the United States, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, and Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. He has had contact with a number of United States diplomats, including hosting current United States Ambassador to Japan

United States Ambassador to Japan

The United States Ambassador to Japan is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States to Japan. Since the opening of Japan by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, in 1854, the U.S. maintained diplomatic relations with Japan, except for the ten-year period following the attack on...

 John Roos

John Roos

John Victor Roos is the United States Ambassador to Japan. Before accepting the ambassadorship from President Barack Obama, Roos was the CEO of Silicon Valley-based law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati....

 shortly following Roos' appointment. During the first, second, and third rounds of the Six-party talks

Six-party talks

The six-party talks aim to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.There has been a series of meetings with six participating states:* The Democratic People's Republic of Korea ;...

, Yabunaka represented Japan as chief delegate. The Japanese government also sent Yabanuka as a delegate to China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 to discuss issues of natural gas reserves under the East China Sea

East China Sea

The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...

.

He handled Myanmar

Myanmar

Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

 relations during the Kenji Nagai

Kenji Nagai

was a Japanese photojournalist who took many assignments to conflict zones and dangerous areas around the world. He was shot dead in Burma during the 2007 Burmese anti-government protests....

 shooting incident, demanding an investigation and challenging governmental claims. Yabunaka replaced Toshiyuki Takano

Toshiyuki Takano

is a Japanese Ambassador to Germany, previously to South Korea and Singapore. He sparked a controversy in South Korea when he, in February 2005, stated that the Liancourt Rocks in the Sea of Japan, currently under South Korean administration, "historically and legally" belong to Japan.-References:...

 as Director-General of Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau in 2002. In 2008, Yabunaka held talks with South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

n Ambassador Kwon Chul Hyun over disputed islets in the Sea of Japan

Sea of Japan

The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...

.