Tarumi likely Beijing envoy, Japan reports say

Japan is considering naming Hideo Tarumi, a veteran diplomat known as a Chinese expert, as its new ambassador to China, local media reported on Wednesday.

If he assumes the post, the 59-year-old deputy minister of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Secretariat would be another diplomat from the ministry's "China School "to become an ambassador to China after Yutaka Yokoi, the current ambassador who has been in the post since May 2016.

The ministry's "China School "refers to those diplomats who had received language training in China after joining the ministry with a specific focus on advancing relations with Beijing.