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New U.S. envoy arrives

Courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo
New U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and his wife, Amy, arrive at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Sunday.

Jiji Press

17:40 JST, January 24, 2022

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — New U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport with his wife, Amy, Sunday afternoon.

In a message posted on Twitter in both Japanese and English, Emanuel said, “Amy and I are excited to have arrived in Japan and are eager to meet the people of Japan as we travel throughout the country.”

Emanuel, 62, a Jewish American born in Chicago, served as White House chief of staff under the administration of President Barack Obama in 2009-2010, before serving as Chicago mayor from 2011 to 2019.

U.S. President Joe Biden nominated Emanuel as U.S. ambassador to Japan and his appointment was confirmed by the Senate in December last year.

The post of U.S. ambassador to Japan had been vacant for over two years, since William Hagerty resigned to run for the Senate.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Emanuel plans to release a video message for Japanese people in the coming days.