Japan's new China envoy in ICU after surgery

TOKYO (AFP) - The newly appointed Japanese ambassador to China was in intensive care on Friday following surgery after he collapsed unconscious in Tokyo, a report said.

Mr Shinichi Nishimiya, who was officially appointed on Tuesday, was taken to hospital after falling ill on the street near his home in the capital's fashionable Shibuya district on Thursday.

The Sankei Shimbun daily said the ambassador was in an intensive care unit following surgery. It quoted unnamed police sources but did not specify the nature of the treatment.

A foreign ministry official refused to confirm the report, saying only: "He is hospitalised due to his bad condition".