US President Joe Biden and Rahm Emanuel are pictured together in 2019. Photo: TNS
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https://scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3160433/tokyo-bound-us-envoy-rahm-emanuel-draws-mixed-feelings-japan Politics
Tokyo-bound US envoy Rahm Emanuel draws mixed feelings in Japan for brash style, views on Chicago stint
- The former Chicago mayor pledged to boost unity between the US, Japan and South Korea and confront efforts by China and North Korea to divide them
- But Emanuel’s brash style and lack of foreign policy experience have raised questions about his ability to carry out diplomacy at the highest levels
Rahm Emanuel speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in October over his nomination as US ambassador to Japan. Photo: AP
Former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel’s appointment as the new US ambassador to Japan has drawn mixed reactions in Tokyo, with commentators questioning if the brash political insider can execute diplomacy at the highest levels of government.
The Japanese foreign ministry on Sunday announced that Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi had congratulated Emanuel, adding that he was looking forward to working with him to further strengthen the Japan-US alliance and ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Yoichi Shimada, professor of international relations at Fukui Prefectural University, said from Japan’s perspective, Emanuel was “clearly very close to [US President Joe] Biden and former president [Barack] Obama, so having those links to the people at the centre of power can be beneficial to Japan”.
“On the other hand, we know that he has had many troubles in US politics and he has a reputation for making abrasive comments, so the smoothness of his time in Japan will depend entirely on him,” Shimada said.
Emanuel, who served in Congress as well as being senior adviser to former president Bill Clinton and Obama’s first chief of staff, is known as a brash political insider with an affinity for four-letter words.
During his confirmation hearing, he was grilled about his handling of a Chicago police officer’s killing of black teenager Laquan McDonald in 2014. He expressed regret over how it was handled, rejecting accusations of a cover-up and saying he had underestimated the need for true police reform.
Democrat and Republican senators alike supported – and opposed – him, including prominent progressive Democrat Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, who called his appointment by Biden “deeply shameful”.
Senators also quizzed him on everything from North Korean ballistic missile tests in the region and China’s increasing aggressiveness in the South China Sea, to the need to preserve Taiwan’s independence and crack down on intellectual property theft from Beijing.
In response, Emanuel said the US is at a “critical juncture” with its foreign policy in the region.
“China, Russia, North Korea are trying to find cracks and fissures in the alliances between the United States and Japan and South Korea,” Emanuel said. “Our job as a facilitator is to create the bonds of unity that we speak with one voice, one interest. This is one of, if not the highest priority – to find that unity so we can confront the attempt by China and North Korea to divide us.”
The polarised views towards his eight-year stint as Chicago mayor were highlighted by an opinion article by American academic Earl Kinmonth in Japan’s Sankei newspaper, known for its nationalist views.
The piece suggested that the naming of “Rahmbo” Emanuel – a play on the violent movie character – did little to bolster US-Japan ties at this time. The article pointed out that Emanuel’s performance in Chicago went to the heart of him as a person and his limited foreign policy experience was linked only to one country, Israel.
His positions on trade or military issues in the region were unclear, the piece said.
“The Biden nominee for China is a veteran diplomat, whereas his nominee for Japan is a foul-mouthed Rahmbo loathed by many in his own party,” said the piece, referring to Beijing-bound diplomat Nicholas Burns.
Political commentator and author Robert R Eldridge said Emanuel’s reputation for being a tough political operator and a hard-nosed negotiator meant he would do well in carrying out Biden’s policies in the region.
But he cited concerns about his “ethical problems” and reputation for resorting to profanities.
“He has an image of being difficult to work with and, once the stress of the job kicks in, I can very easily see him going off,” he said. “That is not acceptable and could very quickly create a hostile and toxic workplace within the embassy.”
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Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth, who voted for Emanuel even as she acknowledged that the criticism against him was fair, said the role had been vacant for too long.
Before casting her vote on Saturday, Duckworth noted that the ambassadorship had been left vacant since ex-envoy William Hagerty resigned in July 2019 to run for Senate.
“We desperately need an ambassador in Japan. This is a part of the world that is under continued stress from the People’s Republic of China, both on a national security footing but also economically in terms of supply chain,” Duckworth said.
“So, it would be really good to get an ambassador in that position, and this is who the president has picked. So, I will support the president.”