# List of ambassadors of Canada to Japan

The ambassador of Canada to Japan is the official representative of the Canadian government to the government of Japan. The official title for the ambassador is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Japan. The ambassador of Canada to Japan is Ian G. McKay who was appointed on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on April 14, 2021.
The Embassy of Canada is located at 3-38 Akasaka 7-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan, 107-8503.

## History of diplomatic relations

Diplomatic relations between Canada and Japan were established on January 31, 1928. Canada's third legation abroad was established in Japan on January 18, 1929, in Tokyo with Herbert Marler as the first minister plenipotentiary to the country. The mission was downgraded in 1938 due to the worsening international situation with the Chargé d'affaires becoming the lead official. Diplomatic relations were severed and the embassy formally closed on December 7, 1941, after the Japanese attack on World War II. Following the war, Canada's mission in Tokyo was accredited to the Supreme Commander Allied Powers, with Egerton Herbert Norman appointed head of mission on July 7, 1946. After the peace treaty with Japan, diplomatic relations resumed, and the mission upgraded to an embassy on March 18, 1950, with the first ambassador Robert Wellington Mayhew appointed on September 25, 1952.

## List of ambassadors of Canada to Japan

| No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Career | Prime Minister nominated by | Prime Minister nominated by | Ref. |
| No. | Name | Start Date | PoC. | End Date | Career | Prime Minister nominated by | Prime Minister nominated by | Ref. |
| Titled as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary |||||||||
| 1 | Herbert Meredith Marler | January 18, 1929 | September 18, 1929 | July 3, 1936 | Non-Career | | W. L. Mackenzie King (1926–1930 & 1935–1948) | |
| 2 | Robert Randolph Bruce | May 20, 1936 | November 7, 1936 | December 1938 | Non-Career | | W. L. Mackenzie King (1926–1930 & 1935–1948) | |
| – | Edgar D'Arcy McGreer (Chargé d'Affaires) | December 1938 | | December 7, 1941 | Career | | W. L. Mackenzie King (1926–1930 & 1935–1948) | |
| 3 | Egerton Herbert Norman (Head of Mission to SCAP) | July 7, 1946 | August 14, 1946 | October 21, 1950 | Career | | W. L. Mackenzie King (1926–1930 & 1935–1948) | |
| 4 | Arthur Redpath Menzies (Head of Mission to SCAP) | November 18, 1950 | | April 28, 1952 | Career | | Louis St. Laurent (1948–1957) | |
| – | Arthur Redpath Menzies (Chargé d'Affaires) | April 28, 1952 | | January 15, 1953 | Career | | Louis St. Laurent (1948–1957) | |
| Titled as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary |||||||||
| 5 | Robert Wellington Mayhew | September 25, 1952 | January 15, 1953 | November 23, 1954 | Non-Career | | Louis St. Laurent (1948–1957) | |
| 6 | Thomas Clayton Davis | June 10, 1954 | | March 25, 1957 | Non-Career | | Louis St. Laurent (1948–1957) | |
| – | James Clelland Britton (Chargé d'Affaires) | November 23, 1954 | | | Career | | Louis St. Laurent (1948–1957) | |
| – | Theodore Francis Moorhouse Newton (Chargé d'Affaires) | March 25, 1957 | | September 1957 | Career | | Louis St. Laurent (1948–1957) | |
| 7 | William Frederick Bull | April 4, 1957 | September 7, 1957 | January 16, 1963 | Career | | Louis St. Laurent (1948–1957) | |
| 8 | Richard Plant Bower | November 5, 1962 | March 18, 1963 | May 4, 1966 | Career | | John G. Diefenbaker (1957–1963) | |
| 9 | Herbert Owen Moran | February 23, 1966 | September 14, 1966 | December 29, 1972 | Career | | Lester B. Pearson (1963–1968) | |
| 10 | Ross Campbell | June 8, 1972 | January 31, 1973 | December 15, 1975 | Career | | Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968–1979 & 1980–1984) | |
| 11 | Bruce Irving Rankin | February 17, 1976 | March 8, 1976 | June 9, 1981 | Career | | Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968–1979 & 1980–1984) | |
| 12 | Barry Connell Steers | September 3, 1981 | October 26, 1981 | November 24, 1989 | Career | | Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968–1979 & 1980–1984) | |
| 13 | James Hutchings Taylor | September 7, 1989 | December 12, 1989 | March 12, 1993 | Career | | Brian Mulroney (1984–1993) | |
| 14 | Donald Wilfred Campbell | January 5, 1993 | April 15, 1993 | September 6, 1997 | Career | | Brian Mulroney (1984–1993) | |
| 15 | Leonard J. Edwards | November 20, 1997 | January 22, 1998 | June 11, 2001 | Career | | Jean Chrétien (1993–2003) | |
| 16 | Robert G. Wright | May 28, 2001 | June 21, 2001 | July 12, 2005 | Career | | Jean Chrétien (1993–2003) | |
| 17 | Joseph Caron | August 19, 2005 | December 14, 2005 | August 3, 2008 | Career | | Paul Martin (2003–2006) | |
| 18 | Jonathan Fried | September 2, 2008 | November 17, 2008 | November 5, 2012 | Career | | Stephen Harper (2006–2015) | |
| 19 | Mackenzie Clugston | September 17, 2012 | December 14, 2012 | 2016 | Career | | Stephen Harper (2006–2015) | |
| 20 | Ian Burney | July 18, 2016 | September 21, 2016 | | Career | | Justin Trudeau (2015–Present) | |
| 21 | Ian G. McKay | April 14, 2021 | September 10, 2021 | | Non-Career | | Justin Trudeau (2015–Present) | |