# List of ambassadors of Japan to the Philippines

The Ambassador of Japan to the Philippines (Filipino: Sugo ng Hapon sa Pilipinas; Japanese: 在フィリピン日本国大使, romanized: Zai Firipin Nippon Koku Taishi) is the head of the Japanese diplomatic mission in the Philippines and the official representative of the government of Japan to the government of the Philippines. Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Japan began in 1888 when a Japanese consulate was established in Manila and in 1943, it was upgraded to an embassy right after the inauguration of the Second Philippine Republic. Relations were suspended in 1945, after the surrender of Japan to the Allied forces and They remained dormant until 1952 when the Japanese government sent its minister to Manila. On July 23, 1956, the position of ambassador was reestablished after the ratification of the Peace Treaty and Reparations Agreement between the Philippines and Japan.
The embassy of Japan in the Philippines is based in Pasay City, Metro Manila. The position has the rank of Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary.

## List of ambassadors
### Consuls and consuls general during the Spanish and American colonial periods

| Head of mission | Tenure begins | Tenure ends | Japanese emperor | Japanese prime minister | Accredited during the Government of | Note(s) |
| Atsushi Kimura | 1931 | 1935 | Hirohito | Hamaguchi Osachi Kijūrō Shidehara Wakatsuki Reijirō Inukai Tsuyoshi Takahashi Korekiyo Saitō Makoto Keisuke Okada | Frank Murphy (as Governor-General of the Philippines; later High Commissioner to the Philippines) | First Secretary of the Japanese Legation at Warsaw, Poland on May 4, 1935. |
| Kiyoshi Uchiyama | 1935 | 1943 | Hirohito | Keisuke Okada Fumio Gotō Kōki Hirota Senjūrō Hayashi Fumimaro Konoe Kiichirō Hiranuma Nobuyuki Abe Mitsumasa Yonai Fumimaro Konoe Hideki Tōjō | Manuel L. Quezon (as President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines) | Credentials were presented on July 19, 1935. |

### Ambassadors

| Head of mission | Tenure begins | Tenure ends | Japanese emperor | Japanese prime minister | Philippine president | Notes |
| Shōzō Murata | 1943 | 1945 | Hirohito | Hideki Tōjō Kuniaki Koiso Kantarō Suzuki Naruhiko Higashikuni Kijūrō Shidehara | Jose P. Laurel (as President of the Second Philippine Republic) Sergio Osmeña (as President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines) |
| Diplomatic relations were suspended until 1952 due to the surrender of Japan to the Allied forces. The post was re-established in 1952 as minister plenipotentiary. In 1956, the post was elevated to ambassador status as the Philippines and Japan resumed their diplomatic relations as their friendship agreement was signed. |||||||
| Tōru Nakagawa | 1952 | 1953 | Hirohito | Hitoshi Ashida Shigeru Yoshida | Elpidio Quirino |
| Katsumi Ōno | 1953 | 1955 | Hirohito | Shigeru Yoshida Ichirō Hatoyama | Elpidio Quirino Ramon Magsaysay |
| Kōichirō Asakai | 1956 | 1957 | Hirohito | Tanzan Ishibashi Nobusuke Kishi | Ramon Magsaysay | Recalled to the home service on 17 June 1957. |
| Morio Yukawa | 1957 | 1961 | Hirohito | Nobusuke Kishi Hayato Ikeda | Carlos P. Garcia |
| Jun Tsuchiya | 1961 | 1962 | Hirohito | Hayato Ikeda Eisaku Satō | Diosdado Macapagal |
| Osamu Itagaki | 1962 | 1965 | Hirohito | Hayato Ikeda Eisaku Satō | Diosdado Macapagal | Credentials were presented to Diosdado Macapagal on 6 June 1962. |
| Harumi Takeuchi | 1965 | 1967 | Hirohito | Eisaku Satō Kakuei Tanaka | Ferdinand Marcos |
| Masao Kanazawa | 1967 | 1968 | Hirohito | Eisaku Satō Kakuei Tanaka | Ferdinand Marcos |
| Takeshi Yasukawa | 1968 | 1969 | Hirohito | Eisaku Satō Kakuei Tanaka | Ferdinand Marcos | Conferred the Order of Sikatuna on 18 November 1969. |
| Toshio Urabe | 1969 | 1974 | Hirohito | Eisaku Satō Kakuei Tanaka | Ferdinand Marcos | Conferred the Order of Sikatuna on 16 July 1974. |
| Masao Sawaki | 1974 | 1977 | Hirohito | Takeo Miki Takeo Fukuda | Ferdinand Marcos |
| Kiyohisa Miwa | 1977 | 1979 | Hirohito | Takeo Fukuda Masayoshi Ōhira Masayoshi Ito Zenkō Suzuki Yasuhiro Nakasone | Ferdinand Marcos |
| Hideho Tanaka | 1980 | 1983 | Hirohito | Takeo Fukuda Masayoshi Ōhira Masayoshi Ito Zenkō Suzuki Yasuhiro Nakasone | Ferdinand Marcos |
| Yoshio Okawa | 1983 | 1985 | Hirohito | Yasuhiro Nakasone Noboru Takeshita | Ferdinand Marcos |
| Kiyoshi Sumiya | 1985 | 1988 | Hirohito | Yasuhiro Nakasone Noboru Takeshita | Ferdinand Marcos Corazon Aquino | Conferred the Order of Sikatuna on 16 February 1988. |
| Tsuneo Tanaka | 1988 | 1990 | Hirohito Akihito | Noboru Takeshita Sōsuke Uno Toshiki Kaifu | Corazon Aquino | Conferred the Order of Sikatuna on 16 October 1990. |
| Toshio Goto | 1990 | 1992 | Akihito | Toshiki Kaifu Kiichi Miyazawa | Corazon Aquino | Credentials were presented to Corazon Aquino on the week of November 4–11, 1990. |
| Hirokazu Arai | 1992 | 1994 | Akihito | Kiichi Miyazawa Morihiro Hosokawa Tsutomu Hata Tomiichi Murayama | Corazon Aquino Fidel V. Ramos |
| Yoshifumi Matsuda | 1994 | 1996 | Akihito | Tomiichi Murayama | Fidel V. Ramos |
| Hiroyuki Yushita | 1996 | 1999 | Akihito | Ryutaro Hashimoto Keizō Obuchi | Fidel V. Ramos Joseph Estrada |
| Yoshihisa Ara | 1999 | 2002 | Akihito | Keizō Obuchi Yoshirō Mori Junichiro Koizumi | Joseph Estrada Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | Conferred the Order of Sikatuna on 15 April 2002. |
| Kojiro Takano | 2002 | 2004 | Akihito | Junichiro Koizumi Shinzo Abe Yasuo Fukuda | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | Conferred the Order of Sikatuna on 13 October 2004. |
| Ryuichiro Yamazaki | 2004 | 2007 | Akihito | Junichiro Koizumi Shinzo Abe Yasuo Fukuda | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |
| Makoto Katsura | 2007 | 2011 | Akihito | Yasuo Fukuda Tarō Asō Yukio Hatoyama Naoto Kan Yoshihiko Noda | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Benigno Aquino III | Credentials were presented to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on 2 October 2007. |
| Toshinao Urabe | 2011 | 2014 | Akihito | Yoshihiko Noda Shinzo Abe | Benigno S. Aquino III |
| Kazuhide Ishikawa | 2014 | 2017 | Akihito | Shinzo Abe Yoshihide Suga | Benigno Aquino III Rodrigo Duterte | Credentials were presented to Benigno Aquino III on November 27, 2014. |
| Kouji Haneda | 2017 | 2020 | Akihito Naruhito | Shinzo Abe Yoshihide Suga | Rodrigo Duterte | Credentials were presented to Rodrigo Duterte on 25 October 2017. |
| Kazuhiko Koshikawa | 2020 | 2024 | Naruhito | Yoshihide Suga Fumio Kishida | Rodrigo Duterte Bongbong Marcos | Credentials were presented to Rodrigo Duterte on 14 December 2020. |
| Kazuya Endo | 2024 | present | Naruhito | Fumio Kishida Shigeru Ishiba | Bongbong Marcos | Credentials were presented to Bongbong Marcos on 4 April 2024. |