PM Extends Condolences over Loss of Former Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia

Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, has expressed his condolences to H.E. Madam Sumiko Imagawa, over the passing of H.E. Mr. Yukio Imagawa, former Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia.

“My wife and I are very saddened to hear that your husband, H.E. Mr. Yukio Imagawa, has passed away. We would like to express our deepest condolences to you and your family on this immense loss. May his soul rest in peace, while our thoughts and prayers are with you and family at this moment of profound grief,” Samdech Techo Hun Sen wrote in his condolence message.

“H.E. Ambassador Imagawa has been a true friend of Cambodia and was highly respected and loved in Cambodia. He dedicated 39 years of his life working to promote cordial ties between Japan and Cambodia and has contributed significantly to peace, stability and socio-economic progress in Cambodia,” he added.

According to the Embassy of Japan in Phnom Penh, H.E. Mr. Yukio Imagawa passed away in Japan on Dec. 30, 2021. Former Ambassador Imagawa joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in 1956 and was posted to Phnom Penh, Cambodia as a Khmer language trainee in 1957 and worked here for 8 years until 1965. In 1992, after the reopening of the embassy, he became the first Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia.

As a Japanese diplomat with deep understanding of Cambodian history, politics, economy, society, and culture, he persistently discussed with former King Sihanouk, Prime Minister Hun Sen and other relevant parties, and also served as Co-Chair of the Third Committee of the Paris International Conference on Cambodia in 1989 in order to achieve peace in Cambodia.

As a Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia, he was involved in the arrangement of Japanese peacekeeping forces under the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), the subsequent first general election, and the reconstruction process.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press