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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Daniel Hurst Foreign affairs and defence correspondent

‘Wolf warrior’ or entertainer? Outspoken Japanese envoy Shingo Yamagami has no regrets as he departs Australia

Ambassador of Japan Yamagami Shingo addresses the National Press Club in Canberra in 2021
Outgoing Japanese ambassador to Australia Shingo Yamagami doesn’t see himself as a ‘wolf warrior’ but more of a koala or kangaroo. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

If an ambassador’s job is to win friends and influence people, Shingo Yamagami has done plenty of that.

But Japan’s departing envoy to Australia has also lost friends and alienated others during his two years and four months in Australia.

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