Japanese diplomat Yoko Maejima has returned to Athens to take up her new role as deputy head of the Japanese Embassy in Greece, introducing herself to the Greek public in a video in which she speaks fluent Greek.
In a video posted on the embassy’s official Instagram account, Maejima shared her excitement at returning to a country where she has spent several periods of her diplomatic career.
“I feel as though I have returned home,” she said, explaining that she has already completed two diplomatic postings in Greece and one in Cyprus.
She also expressed her enthusiasm about the opportunity to work in a Greek-speaking environment again.
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“I am very happy to have the opportunity to work in a Greek environment once more,” she said, demonstrating her ease and fluency in the language.
From Thessaloniki and Corfu to Athens
Maejima’s ties to Greece date back to the late 1980s, when she began learning Greek and spent time in Thessaloniki, in northern Greece, and on the island of Corfu.
Her first official posting in Athens began in 1992, when she served as cultural attaché at the Japanese Embassy until 1995.
In 2013, Maejima returned to the Greek capital as first secretary and head of the embassy’s Political Affairs Section, a position she held until 2021.
She subsequently served as deputy head of the Japanese Embassy in Cyprus from 2021 to 2025.
Her return to Athens marks another chapter in her diplomatic career, with a focus on further strengthening relations between Greece and Japan, promoting cultural exchanges and deepening the friendship between the two countries and their peoples.