Dec 19 (NHK) - The US Senate has voted to make former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel the next ambassador to Japan. Emanuel will fill a post that has been vacant for two and a half years.
The one-time member of the House of Representatives went on to serve as Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama. He then spent eight years as mayor of Chicago, during which time he faced criticism for his handling of a fatal shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer.
Emanuel needed support from Republican senators to secure the nomination as some progressive members of the Democratic Party voted against it.
Emanuel told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in October that he would strengthen the alliance with Japan in order to stand up to China.
The US has not had an ambassador to Japan since William Hagerty stepped down in July 2019 to run for the Senate.















