China approves Japanese envoy in Chongqing, ending 8-month vacancy

China has approved a new Japanese acting consul general in Chongqing, ending an eight-month vacancy at the mission following a bilateral freeze. Shigehiro Nishiumi, who previously served as Japan’s deputy consul general in Hong Kong, assumed the post at Japan’s diplomatic mission in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing on August 4, according to Japanese news agency Kyodo, citing an unnamed government source. The Chongqing post had remained unoccupied since December 5, when former head…