JAPAN
24 January 2024
Makoto Taniguchi – a tribute
A tribute to Makoto Taniguchi, a former distinguished Japanese diplomat, who recently passed away.
On 14 January 2024, Makoto Taniguchi, a former distinguished Japanese diplomat, sadly passed away at the age of 93. I worked very closely with him during his six year tenure as Deputy Secretary-General of the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He was the first Japanese national to be appointed to this position.
Mr Taniguchi led a remarkable life in very many respects. He was born in 1930 and grew up through the tragic years of World War 2. He was born in Osaka, then the business capital of Japan. Thus, he used to tell me that the usual daily greeting between Osakans was "Mokarimakka?" meaning "Are you making good money?". This is just one example of Mr Taniguchi, the great raconteur, a skill which he employed to great effect for building good relations during his diplomatic career.
During the 1950s, when Japan was struggling to recover from war, Mr Taniguchi received a B.A. and an M.A. from Hitotsubashi University. He then set an example for today’s Japanese youth who seem reluctant to travel overseas to study, when he earned a B.A. at St John's College, Cambridge in 1958. He studied at Cambridge at the same time as another diplomat, Hisashi Owada, who is the father of Empress Masako and the father-in-law of the incumbent Emperor of Japan, Naruhito.
For much of his career, Mr Taniguchi was involved in multilateral diplomacy with assignments in the United Nations ECAFE (now ESCAP) in Bangkok, the GATT (now World Trade Organisation) and two appointments to the United Nations in New York, the second as Ambassador of Japan to the United Nations and Chairman of UNICEF.
Mr Taniguchi was then appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD from 1990-1996. He arrived at the OECD at just the right moment. The OECD was starting to open up cooperation with the emerging economies of Asia. But many OECD staff were not yet convinced of the importance of emerging Asia, and few were very knowledgeable about Asia.
He did an excellent job spearheading the Organisation’s work on Asia, including managing to negotiate the modalities for both Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China to jointly participate in our events. And he was always there to give a warm welcome to visiting officials from Asia, who often appeared intimidated by the OECD’s Chateau which seemed like a symbol of Western imperialism and domination.
Mr Taniguchi also led major OECD studies on the prospective economic linkages between OECD countries and emerging Asia. OECD membership by the Republic of Korea was achieved around the end of his term of office. Mr Taniguchi had of course a vast range of other responsibilities, including relations with South America and development cooperation.
Mr Taniguchi was always conscious that he was living through a pivotal period in world history. He was very keen to promote the peaceful renaissance of Asia, so that it could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the West in global affairs. Thus, upon his retirement his many activities included a professorial appointment in the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at Japan’s Waseda University, writing the book Japan and Asia in a New Global Age, and participation in various think tanks.
The great tragedy in Mr Taniguchi’s life was that his beautiful wife, Hiroko, predeceased him by ten years. He is survived by his son, Ken, who is a Bank of Japan official. Mr Taniguchi’s passing is very sad. But his life was a life very well lived. He was greatly appreciated wherever he went thanks to his warm, kind and outgoing personality. And he made an important contribution to the postwar renaissance of Asia, helping to lay foundations for a prospective Asian Century.
Mr Taniguchi led a remarkable life in very many respects. He was born in 1930 and grew up through the tragic years of World War 2. He was born in Osaka, then the business capital of Japan. Thus, he used to tell me that the usual daily greeting between Osakans was "Mokarimakka?" meaning "Are you making good money?". This is just one example of Mr Taniguchi, the great raconteur, a skill which he employed to great effect for building good relations during his diplomatic career.
During the 1950s, when Japan was struggling to recover from war, Mr Taniguchi received a B.A. and an M.A. from Hitotsubashi University. He then set an example for today’s Japanese youth who seem reluctant to travel overseas to study, when he earned a B.A. at St John's College, Cambridge in 1958. He studied at Cambridge at the same time as another diplomat, Hisashi Owada, who is the father of Empress Masako and the father-in-law of the incumbent Emperor of Japan, Naruhito.
For much of his career, Mr Taniguchi was involved in multilateral diplomacy with assignments in the United Nations ECAFE (now ESCAP) in Bangkok, the GATT (now World Trade Organisation) and two appointments to the United Nations in New York, the second as Ambassador of Japan to the United Nations and Chairman of UNICEF.
Mr Taniguchi was then appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD from 1990-1996. He arrived at the OECD at just the right moment. The OECD was starting to open up cooperation with the emerging economies of Asia. But many OECD staff were not yet convinced of the importance of emerging Asia, and few were very knowledgeable about Asia.
He did an excellent job spearheading the Organisation’s work on Asia, including managing to negotiate the modalities for both Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China to jointly participate in our events. And he was always there to give a warm welcome to visiting officials from Asia, who often appeared intimidated by the OECD’s Chateau which seemed like a symbol of Western imperialism and domination.
Mr Taniguchi also led major OECD studies on the prospective economic linkages between OECD countries and emerging Asia. OECD membership by the Republic of Korea was achieved around the end of his term of office. Mr Taniguchi had of course a vast range of other responsibilities, including relations with South America and development cooperation.
Mr Taniguchi was always conscious that he was living through a pivotal period in world history. He was very keen to promote the peaceful renaissance of Asia, so that it could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the West in global affairs. Thus, upon his retirement his many activities included a professorial appointment in the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at Japan’s Waseda University, writing the book Japan and Asia in a New Global Age, and participation in various think tanks.
The great tragedy in Mr Taniguchi’s life was that his beautiful wife, Hiroko, predeceased him by ten years. He is survived by his son, Ken, who is a Bank of Japan official. Mr Taniguchi’s passing is very sad. But his life was a life very well lived. He was greatly appreciated wherever he went thanks to his warm, kind and outgoing personality. And he made an important contribution to the postwar renaissance of Asia, helping to lay foundations for a prospective Asian Century.