Taiwan appointed Friday Lee Yi-yang, a former vice president of the Examination Yuan, which is in charge of personnel affairs of civil servants, as the island's new de facto ambassador to Japan, according to the presidential office.
Lee, 69, will succeed Frank Hsieh, who left the top representative post in Japan last week after eight years of service. The new envoy is expected to take up his position in Tokyo in September, Taiwanese media said.
Hsieh has been appointed as an adviser to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te. In the absence of official diplomatic ties, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office serves as the island's de facto embassy in Japan.
Lee worked as a news reporter and a Taipei City Council member before becoming secretary general of the ruling, independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party under then President Chen Shui-bian.
He also headed the Interior Ministry under Chen's administration and served as vice president of the Examination Yuan from 2017 to 2020 in the government of Lai's predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen.
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