Volker Stanzel, 65, is no ordinary ambassador. He speaks fluent Japanese and has blogged about Japan in Japanese every day for more than two years, covering topics from a vacation in Mongolia to climbing Mt. Fuji and strolling in Tokyo's back alleys.

The blog, which he started after the March 11, 2011 earthquake that devastated northeastern Japan, will soon come to an end, however, as he wraps up his four-year assignment in Tokyo, and with it, his 34-year diplomatic career.

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