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Ambassador of the United States to Japan
US Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Ambassador-emanuel-portrait.jpg
Incumbent
Rahm Emanuel

since March 25, 2022
Department of State
Style Mr. Ambassador
(informal)
The Honorable
(formal)
Nominator The President of the United States
Appointer The President
with Senate advice and consent
Formation November 5, 1859

The ambassador of the United States of America to Japan (Japanese: 日本駐在米合衆国大使, Hepburn: Nihon Chūzai Amerika Gasshūkoku Taishi) is the ambassador from the United States of America to Japan.

History

Beginning in 1854 with the use of gunboat diplomacy by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, the U.S. has maintained diplomatic relations with Japan, except for the ten-year period between the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 (and the subsequent declaration of war on Japan by the United States) and the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco, which normalized relations between the United States and Japan. The United States maintains an embassy in Tokyo, with consulates-general in Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Naha.

Due to the significance of the relations between the two countries in recent years on trade and defense, with Japan being described by the United States State Department as "the cornerstone of the U.S. security interests in Asia," the post has been held by many significant American politicians, including Mike Mansfield, Walter Mondale, Tom Foley and Howard Baker and currently Rahm Emanuel.

List of chiefs of mission

The following is a list of chiefs of mission.

Resident ministers

Name Presented credentials Reason for end of term Date of end of term
Townsend Harris November 5, 1859 presented recall April 26, 1862
Robert H. Pruyn May 17, 1862 Left Japan April 28, 1866
Chauncey Depew* N/A *(commissioned during a Senate recess; declined appointment) N/A
Robert B. Van Valkenburgh May 4, 1867 presented recall November 11, 1869
Charles E. DeLong November 11, 1869 promoted to envoy June 9, 1872

Envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary

Name Presented credentials Reason for end of term Date of end of term
Charles E. DeLong June 9, 1872 Farewell address October 7, 1873
John Bingham October 7, 1873 Presented recall July 2, 1885
Richard B. Hubbard July 2, 1885 Presented recall May 15, 1889
John Franklin Swift May 15, 1889 Died in office March 10, 1891
Frank Coombs June 13, 1892 Presented recall July 14, 1893
Edwin Dun July 14, 1893 Presented recall July 2, 1897
Alfred Buck June 3, 1898 Died in office December 4, 1902
Lloyd Carpenter Griscom June 22, 1903 Left Japan November 19, 1905

Ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary

Name Presented credentials Reason for end of term Date of end of term
Luke E. Wright May 26, 1906 Left Japan August 13, 1907
Thomas J. O'Brien October 15, 1907 Left office August 31, 1911
Charles Page Bryan November 22, 1911 Left office October 1, 1912
Larz Anderson February 1, 1913 Left Japan March 15, 1913
George W. Guthrie August 7, 1913 Died in office March 8, 1917
Roland S. Morris October 30, 1917 Left Japan May 15, 1920
Charles B. Warren September 24, 1921 Left Japan January 28, 1923
Cyrus Woods July 21, 1923 Left Japan June 5, 1924
Edgar Bancroft November 19, 1924 Died in office July 27, 1925
Charles MacVeagh December 9, 1925 Left Japan December 6, 1928
William Castle, Jr. January 24, 1930 Left Japan May 27, 1930
W. Cameron Forbes September 15, 1930 Left Japan March 22, 1932
Joseph Grew June 14, 1932 Left Japan upon US declaration of war December 8, 1941
George Atcheson Jr.** 1946 (**Political advisor to SCAP of ambassadorial rank.) 1946
William J. Sebald*** 1947 (***Chief, Diplomatic Section, GHQ, SCAP - of ambassadorial rank) 1952
Robert D. Murphy May 9, 1952 Relinquished charge April 28, 1953
John M. Allison May 28, 1953 Left office February 2, 1957
Douglas MacArthur II February 25, 1957 Left office March 12, 1961
Edwin Reischauer April 27, 1961 Left office August 19, 1966
U. Alexis Johnson November 8, 1966 Left office January 15, 1969
Armin H. Meyer July 3, 1969 Left office March 27, 1972
Robert S. Ingersoll April 12, 1972 Left office November 8, 1973
James Day Hodgson July 19, 1974 Left office February 2, 1977
Mike Mansfield June 10, 1977 Left office December 22, 1988
Michael Armacost May 15, 1989 Left office July 19, 1993
Walter Mondale September 21, 1993 Left office December 15, 1996
Tom Foley November 19, 1997 Left office April 1, 2001
Howard Baker July 5, 2001 Farewell address February 17, 2005
Tom Schieffer April 11, 2005 Left office January 20, 2009
John Roos August 20, 2009 Left office August 12, 2013
Caroline Kennedy November 12, 2013 Left office January 18, 2017
Bill Hagerty August 31, 2017 Left office July 22, 2019
Rahm Emanuel March 25, 2022 Incumbent

See also

  • Ambassadors of the United States
  • Japanese Ambassador to the United States
  • Embassy of the United States in Tokyo
  • Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C.
  • Foreign relations of the United States
  • Foreign relations of Japan
  • Japan–United States relations
    • Convention of Kanagawa
    • Treaty of Amity and Commerce (United States–Japan)
    • Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan
    • Treaty of San Francisco
    • Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan
    • United States Forces Japan
    • U.S.–Japan Status of Forces Agreement
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