Two years after the vacancy, Biden nominated ambassador to Japan. The diplomatic layman is a "cruel

Original title: Biden nominated ambassador to Japan two years after the vacancy. A diplomatic layman is a & ldquo; Cruel role & rdquo;

Emanuel was a former mayor of Chicago and chief of staff of the White House during the Obama administration
[in July 2019, former U.S. ambassador to Japan Hagerty left office to return to run for senator. Since then, the trump administration nominated winstan, director of the Hudson Institute, as U.S. ambassador to Japan in March 2020. However, with the change of the U.S. government, this nomination was invalidated. It was not until August 2021 that the Biden administration made public the official nomination of Emanuel, 61.]
[Emanuel, a Jewish, is a native of Chicago and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and Northwestern University.]
What most outsiders may not know is that the important post of US ambassador to Japan has been vacant for more than two years.
Recently, the Biden Administration officially nominated ram & middot, a senior minister of the Democratic Party; Rahm Emanuel is the US ambassador to Japan and praised him in the nomination statement & ldquo; He has an outstanding career in the field of public service & rdquo;.
Emanuel was the former mayor of Chicago and the chief of staff of the White House during the Obama administration. He worked with U.S. President Biden for many years and clearly supported Biden in the U.S. presidential election in 2020.
After the nomination was announced, Emanuel issued a statement saying that in the past 30 years, he has worked with Biden for the American public.
It is worth mentioning that at the beginning of the Biden government's victory, Biden intended to appoint Emanuel as Minister of transportation, but the nomination was shelved due to Emanuel's previous too tough behavior in domestic politics. A few months ago, Biden decided to order Emanuel to serve as ambassador to Japan, but it was not announced until August.
Liu Xiangdong, vice minister and researcher of the Economic Research Department of the China Center for international economic exchanges, told the first finance reporter: & ldquo; American politics itself is election politics. After the election, there is a reward process. The presidential team (people) can either be the Secretary of the interior or the ambassador abroad. From this point of view, the candidate of the U.S. ambassador to Japan is the normal choice of the Biden government. Those who help Biden win the election always have a place to go. If there is no suitable position in the United States, the position abroad may be more reasonable, and the time of this business trip position will not be too long& rdquo;
“ Emanuel, who served in the Obama administration, must have contributed to the Biden administration's election campaign, so he can't be sent to a very difficult place to deal with things. Those places need really senior diplomats, at least not to add any chaos to diplomacy& rdquo; Liu Xiangdong explained, & ldquo; The United States and Japan were originally allies. Now the Democratic Party of the United States is in power, and Japan is very close, so Japan will accept this candidate& rdquo;
American Politics & ldquo; Cruel role & rdquo;
In July 2019, former U.S. ambassador to Japan hagetti left office to return to run for senator. Since then, the trump administration nominated winstan, director of the Hudson Institute, as U.S. ambassador to Japan in March 2020. However, with the change of the U.S. government, this nomination was invalidated. It was not until August 2021 that the Biden administration made public its official nomination for Emanuel, 61.
Emanuel, a Jewish, is a native of Chicago and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and Northwestern University.
As a senior Democrat, he served in the Clinton Administration for many years and served as political affairs assistant and senior policy and strategy adviser in the White House. In 2006, when he was the chairman of the democratic election committee, he led the Democratic Party to win the congressional election that year and regain control of Congress.
From 2009 to 2010, he served as chief of staff of the White House of the Obama administration and mayor of Chicago from 2011 to 2019.
The White House said in a statement: & ldquo; During his tenure as mayor of Chicago, Emanuel promoted economic development, revitalized the city and helped Chicago consolidate its position as a global cultural and commercial center; It hosted the 2012 NATO summit and remained a leader in foreign direct investment in the United States for six consecutive years& rdquo;
The reason why the White House spent a lot of time praising Emanuel's achievements in Chicago in its statement may be related to the controversy during his administration in Chicago. Emanuel in American politics with & ldquo; Cruel role & rdquo; Well known, with political circles & ldquo; Rambo & rdquo; His nickname is hot tempered.
In October 2014, a black youth in Chicago was killed by 16 shots fired by white police, triggering a large-scale local protest. Emanuel, then mayor of Chicago, strongly supported the police, while the victim's family sued him & ldquo; Encourage police violence & rdquo;. Emanuel's actions have been criticized by people in the Democratic Party.
After the nomination of the White House, some foreign scholars were also worried, although & ldquo; Lose your temper & rdquo; It is a useful negotiating tool in Washington, but it is not good for him in Japan's calm political culture.
Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University in Japan, said: & ldquo; Does he understand that compromise and patience are more important than losing his temper in diplomacy& rdquo;
Diplomacy & ldquo; Layman & rdquo; How to handle US Japan Relations
As a veteran of American politics, Emanuel has little experience in foreign affairs.
However, once he arrives in Japan, he will quickly fall into a series of geopolitical impasses in East Asia due to historical reasons, such as the rift between Japan and South Korea.
At the same time, the close relationship between the United States and Japan is superficial, conflicts such as trade imbalances are also surging.
The Japanese diplomatic community did not think highly of the previous two US ambassadors to Japan, and privately called them & ldquo; Absent ambassadors & rdquo;.
At the same time, it can be compared that diplomats from Britain, Russia and other countries serving as ambassadors in Japan generally have deep ties with Japan and Asia. Take Mikhail galuzin, Russian ambassador to Japan, as an example. He has been a member of the Moscow delegation in Tokyo for 40 years; Veterans;, I grew up in Japan and can speak fluent Japanese.
Some former US government officials worry that on the one hand, Emanuel can go directly to Biden, but on the other hand, if Emanuel knows nothing about Japan, this is not good news from a diplomatic point of view.
“ Frankly speaking, I find it embarrassing that the United States has sent some people who know nothing about the country they are going to serve as ambassadors& rdquo; Clyde Prestowitz, a former US trade official who led the Reagan Administration's trade negotiations with Japan, said, & ldquo; It can be dangerous if a very ignorant person has great influence on the president. He was by the Japanese government & lsquo; Fool & rsquo; The risk is high& rdquo;
Liu Xiangdong told the first financial reporter that under the Biden administration, Emanuel, who also played a great role in the Obama administration, at least has the ability to inform. For example, if the Japanese want to know about the foreign policy of the Biden administration and its foreign policies towards Japan, China and the Asia Pacific, this person can certainly understand it.
Liu Xiangdong thinks: & ldquo; Emanuel is not a marginal figure. Since he has the ability to collect information and can talk to Biden, he will certainly play a great role in influencing the decision-making of the US government& rdquo;
It is worth noting that Biden has announced dozens of ambassador nominees this year, but so far, only Ken Salazar, Ambassador to Mexico, has been confirmed by the Senate.
White House spokesman Jen psaki recently publicly expressed & ldquo; Depression & rdquo;. She pointed out that many of these people are competent and have won a lot of Republican support. I don't know why the nomination confirmation process is blocked.
Zhou Shijian, a senior researcher at the Sino US relations research center of Tsinghua University who once worked in the United States, told the first financial reporter that at least the U.S. Congress is off in the summer and will start working until September 6, the nomination hearing will be held thereafter.