Why the Japanese will be fine with Rahm Emanuel
On Tuesday, the Financial Times’ Demitri Sevastopulo broke the story that President Biden plans to nominate Rahm Emanuel to be the U.S. ambassador to Japan. Emanuel is known for holding a lot of political jobs: member of Congress, Barack Obama’s first chief of staff and a two-term mayor of Chicago. He is also known for his ability to anger the bejeezus out of progressives, both for his blunt manner and his governing record.
It would therefore be safe to say that the progressive wing of the Democratic Party is less than thrilled about Biden awarding such a plum post to Emanuel.
Even if one is not a progressive, one has to acknowledge that Cooper has a point. Think of Rahm Emanuel and the word “diplomat” does not come to mind. In his story, Sevastopulo has a deliciously understated observation from my Brookings Institution colleague Mireya Solis, who said that “while Tokyo would value his relationship with Biden, there was some ‘trepidation’ over his reputation for bluntness.” The Japan Times’ Jesse Johnson reported that Emanuel “could prove an unnerving pick for polite Tokyo. … Sebastian Maslow, an expert on Japanese politics at Sendai Shirayuri Women’s University, said that Japan ‘might be worried about Emanuel’s temperament.’ ”