New ambassadors from Japan and Lithuania have begun their work in Latvia, the president’s press office has announced.

Seiichiro Otsuka is Japan’s new ambassador to Rīga. In her March 29 meeting with the ambassador, Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga said her country recalls that Japan’s diplomatic representative was the last to leave Latvia when it was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940.

Although Latvia does not have an embassy in Japan, Vīķe-Freiberga told Otsuka that opening one is a priority that she hopes soon will be realized.

The president also met with Lithuania’s ambassador, Osvaldas Čiukšys, the press office said. The two noted the symbolism of the day, when both countries became members of the NATO defense alliance.