Thank you to over 500 readers and supporters who made our continued operation possible this year. Raising funds for a small outlet that is already open and free for all to read has often been the most challenging part of running this blog. We are grateful for your continued support and well wishes. — DS
On July 17, SFSO Raymond Greene assumed duties as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy Tokyo. A brief bio below via US Mission Japan:
Raymond Greene assumed duties as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, U.S. Embassy Tokyo on July 17, 2021. Prior to this assignment, he was the Deputy Director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Mr. Greene is a member of the State Department’s Senior Foreign Service and has spent his entire 25-year career advancing U.S. diplomatic, economic, and security engagement with the Indo-Pacific region. In Washington, Mr. Greene was Director for Japan and East Asian Economic Affairs at National Security Council and Director of the Office of Economic Policy in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. In the latter capacity, Mr. Greene was elected as Chairman of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum’s Economic Committee.
Overseas, Mr. Greene served as U.S. Consul General in Chengdu, China and Okinawa, Japan. Earlier assignments included Chief of the Political-Military Affairs Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Deputy Chief of the Political Section at AIT Taipei, and as a political officer in Tokyo and Manila. Mr. Greene was the first Baker-Kato Diplomatic Exchange Fellow at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo. He also was assigned as a State Department Faculty Advisor at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Greene holds a B.A. (Government/Japanese) and M.P.M. (International Security and Economic Policy) from the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the recipient of the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Medal, the Ryozo Kato Award for Advancing the U.S.-Japan Alliance, the Friendship Medal of Diplomacy (Taiwan), and several State Department Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards. Before joining the State Department, Mr. Greene was a researcher at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, DC and spent a year in Yokohama on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program. Mr. Greene speaks Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. Mr. Greene is married to the former Yawen Ko.
According to Politico, Rahm Emanuel, the former congressman, White House chief of staff, political adviser, commentator, author, “sender of revenge fish and controversial two-time Chicago mayor is poised” to be President Biden’s pick as ambassador to Tokyo. A White House official cautioned in late June that, “no one is final until they’re announced.”
新しく就任したレイモンド・グリーン臨時代理大使をご紹介します!
"Welcome to our new Chargé d'Affaires, Raymond Greene" @USAmbJapanpic.twitter.com/Lst7Ww8vp2
— アメリカ大使館 (@usembassytokyo) July 20, 2021
Raymond Greene becomes interim US envoy in Tokyo.
As U.S. consul general in Okinawa, he played an intermediary role between the Japanese and U.S. governments for Operation Tomodachi, following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.https://t.co/aSfcD9Wm8P
— Nikkei Asia (@NikkeiAsia) July 19, 2021
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo issued a message (July 19, 2021) to U.S. citizens in #Japan regarding updated information on the #Tokyo2020 Games. See https://t.co/yHSYESAmzb for more information. pic.twitter.com/VNyusJayKT
— U.S. Embassy Tokyo, ACS (@ACSTokyo) July 19, 2021