US Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel: A Strange Choice for an Important Role

Originally published in The Epoch Times.

It’s official. Rahm Emanuel, former mayor of Chicago who also served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton and as President Barack Obama’s first chief of staff, will be heading to Tokyo as the new U.S. ambassador to Japan.

Emanuel Is a Controversial Figure

Why did President Joe Biden nominate him as ambassador to Japan?

I don’t know why Emanuel was nominated. He lacks Asia experience (other than some past ties to Chinese business interests), and certainly lacks a “diplomatic” temperament. Indeed. it’s hard to imagine anyone less suited for dealing with the Japanese. It’s almost as if the choice was made in order to irritate the Japanese—though they will never complain publicly about an ambassador. Does Emanuel have direct and immediate access to Biden? Maybe, maybe not. He’s not mentioned very often as an administration “insider.”

Making Emanuel’s selection even more perplexing is that the “professionals” are supposedly back in charge of American foreign policy. Or at least that’s what Team Biden keeps telling us.

Views and Expectations of Emanuel’s Appointment

What are the views and expectations of the United States and Japan regarding Emanuel’s appointment as ambassador to Japan?

The United States wants Japan to remain a solid ally and to cooperate fully on defense matters—now that the China threat needs to be addressed head on. Taiwan is another important issue from the American perspective, and there are concerns Japan is not willing to “step up” and provide enough support for Taiwan—diplomatic or military.

Of course, Japan’s help as a long-time diplomatic ally of the United States on global issues is also valued (though often taken for granted), and the U.S. government wants to maintain that close relationship and cooperation. By and large, the U.S.-Japan relationship is in reasonable shape, and the ambassador just has to keep things on an “even keel”—or, in other words, maintain the relationship. But it’s even better if he leaves things better than he found it. That really is the test of a successful ambassador to Japan. Few have passed the test.

Looking at things from Tokyo’s perspective, Japan wants most of all to continue having U.S. support—particularly American defense coverage (to include the “nuclear umbrella”). Japan simply cannot defend itself without American backing. This, more than anything, is what the Japanese want. They want the U.S. ambassador to do what’s necessary to keep American defense coverage in place (and hopefully not ask too much of the Japanese).

Read more HERE.