The 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, Howard Baker, and 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 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 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 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 January 28, 1923 Cyrus Woods July 21, 1923 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 May 27, 1930 W. Cameron Forbes September 15, 1930 March 22, 1932 Joseph Grew June 14, 1932 Left Japan upon US declaration of war December 8, 1941 vacant 1941 1946 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 March 12, 1961 Edwin Reischauer April 27, 1961 August 19, 1966 U. Alexis Johnson November 8, 1966 January 15, 1969 Armin H. Meyer July 3, 1969 March 27, 1972 Robert S. Ingersoll April 12, 1972 November 8, 1973 James Day Hodgson July 19, 1974 February 2, 1977 Mike Mansfield June 10, 1977 December 22, 1988 Michael Armacost May 15, 1989 July 19, 1993 Walter Mondale September 21, 1993 December 15, 1996 Tom Foley November 19, 1997 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 August 12, 2013 Caroline Kennedy November 12, 2013 January 18, 2017 Bill Hagerty August 31, 2017 July 22, 2019 vacant 2019 2022 Rahm Emanuel March 25, 2022 Left office January 15, 2025 George Glass April 18, 2025Incumbent

See also Ambassadors of the United States Japanese Ambassador to the United States Embassy of the United States, Tokyo Embassy of Japan, 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

Notes

References U.S. ambassador a role most vital United States Department of State: Background notes on Japan

External links United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Japan United States Department of State: Japan United States Embassy in Tokyo