US Completes Senate Confirmation for Ambassador to Japan... Nominee for Ambassador to Korea Yet to Be Announced

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The U.S. Senate has passed the confirmation of Ram Emanuel as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan. With this, the ambassadorial confirmations for major Northeast Asian countries, China and Japan, excluding South Korea, have all been approved. The ambassador to South Korea has not even had a nominee announced yet, raising concerns that the position will remain vacant into the new year.

According to foreign media including the AP on the 18th (local time), the U.S. Senate voted on Emanuel's confirmation early that day, passing it with 48 votes in favor and 21 against. Emanuel completed the necessary congressional procedures to assume the ambassadorial post about four months after being nominated by President Joe Biden on August 20. Previously, the ambassadorial post in Japan had been vacant for over two years since July 2019, when then-Ambassador William Hagerty resigned to run for the Senate during former President Donald Trump's administration.

Ambassador Emanuel served as the first White House Chief of Staff under the Barack Obama administration and, fittingly nicknamed "Obama's right hand," was the mayor of Chicago, Obama's political hometown, from 2011 to 2019. He is known as a significant figure, having even been considered for Secretary of Transportation under the Biden administration.

Earlier, on the 16th, the U.S. Senate confirmed Nicholas Burns, former Deputy Secretary of State, as Ambassador to China. Burns was nominated on the same day as Emanuel. With this, the congressional confirmation process for ambassadors to major Northeast Asian countries, excluding South Korea, has been completed.

On the other hand, the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea has been vacant for 11 months since President Biden's inauguration in January, with no nominee announced yet. There is a strong expectation in U.S. diplomatic circles that the nomination for the South Korea ambassador will extend into the new year. Considering the congressional confirmation process, there are concerns that the vacancy could continue for more than a year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.