appointed consul of the Japanese government to the CNMI.
He said the CNMI and Japan share a common past and a common future.
“We feel that Saipan is very important to us not only because of our historical backgrounds but in terms of future common interests as well — we share a lot of common interests,” said Higuchi.
The Northern Marianas was administered by Japan from 1914 to 1944.
Beginning in 2012, 12,849 U.S. Marines from Okinawa, Japan will be relocated to Guam.
Japan is paying at least 60 percent of the initial $10 billion military buildup project that will cost the U.S. and Japan up to $15 billion when completed in 2014.
Higuchi replaced retired Japanese Consul Kiyoshi Matsukai.
Higuchi began his diplomatic career in New Delhi, India as a 28-year-old administrative office staff member of the Japanese Embassy.
“It’s very interesting,” he said about his career as a diplomat.
Higuchi studied social science at Waseda University — one of Japan’s topnotch universities, producing six postwar prime ministers, including current Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, as well as countless prominent businessmen and literary giants.
After India, Higuchi was deployed to Sri Lanka.
From there, he moved to Manila, the Philippines where he stayed for five years as first secretary of the Japanese Embassy.
He said he enjoyed his stay in the Philippines and feels sorry that he didn’t have the time to further learn the Filipino language.
He was later assigned as director of the Japan Information Studies in Melbourne, Australia, which he described as a very beautiful place.
In 1997, Higuchi was appointed as Japan’s first secretary for politics and economics for its embassy in Fiji.
In 2000, he returned to Japan where he worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“I like tropical places,” Higuchi said, adding that, so far, he’s enjoying his stay on Saipan.
