Former Japan Diplomat Yukio Okamoto, Adviser to Premiers, Dies From CCP virus

Yukio Okamoto (L) shakes hands with American World War II prisoner of war James Murphy (R) at Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles on July 19, 2015. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

TOKYO—Former Japanese diplomat Yukio Okamoto, a one-time adviser to prime ministers and expert on ties with the United States, died late last month after contracting the CCP virus, his consultancy confirmed on May 8.

After retiring from the foreign ministry in 1991, Okamoto, 74, served as an adviser to then-prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on thorny issues related to Okinawa, home to the bulk of U.S. troops in Japan.