Named in honor of Koichiro Tomita, astronomer at the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory during 1947–1985, prominent observer of comets and minor planets, discoverer of comet 1964 VI and recoverer of almost all the comets that returned in 1967. Also a leading popularizer of astronomy in Japan, Tomita has been a source of inspiration for H. Oishi {see planet  (3379)}, who made the key identification for this planet and proposed the name. (M 2391) _ _.