Masaaki Tsuruta, a former executive at Sony of Japan, was tapped as the head of Samsung Electronics Japan, Samsung officials confirmed Wednesday.

Tsuruta, 56, was appointed to the post as of Jan. 1 to overlook the Japanese corporation, which is mandated to handle mostly equipment and parts, such as semiconductors and LCD panels.

Samsung Electronics had reshuffled its Japanese operations in March last year by disassembling its existing entity to form two separate offices: one for handling smartphones and other devices, and the other, Samsung Electronics Japan, for parts and equipment.

Tsuruta joined Sony in 1979, eventually becoming deputy of the company’s semiconductor business in 2007. Most recently, he had served as the chief technology officer at Sony Computer and Entertainment. He left Sony in October last year.

(jemmie@heraldcorp.com)