BELGRADE — One of Belgrade streets will soon be named after the late Japanese Ambassador Keisuke Oba, who was associated with the former Yugoslavia for 30 years, first as a student and later as a diplomat. About 200 dignitaries and guests attended a ceremony Tuesday in the Ethnological Museum in the Serbia and Montenegro capital city to formally recognize Oba's contributions to relations between Japan and Belgrade. (Kyodo News)
Kyodo in 2002 wrote:Relatives and friends of the late Japanese ambassador to Croatia, Keisuke Oba, buried his ashes in Belgrade on Friday. Oba, considered a great lover of Yugoslavia, died in the Philippines last month. Oba died in the Philippine island of Cebu on Aug. 29 at age 67 after battling a brain tumor. He had told his family he wanted to be buried in Yugoslavia. It is extremely rare for a Japanese diplomat to be buried overseas, according to the Japanese Embassy in Belgrade.
Oba, a graduate of Belgrade University, joined Japan's Foreign Ministry in 1974. Fluent in Serbo-Croat, he served as a diplomat in the various republics of the former Yugoslavia for about 20 years. Oba's eldest son, Naoki, lives in Cebu and nursed his father during his illness. He said his father spoke only in Serbian -- not a word of Japanese or English -- for the last four weeks of his life. "I suppose this is how much he loved Yugoslavia," Naoki said.
