Media: The US ambassador may want to be Japan's "emperor" The main job is to oppose China
Source: Supplement One Knife
Writing/Pigeon Talking
Ram Emanuel, the 31st U.S. Ambassador to Japan and AKA's first U.S. Ambassador to Japan Against China.
An "old churros stick" of American politics, mired in controversy and scandal at home, has been transformed in Tokyo and has become a "star ambassador" in the US media through a series of provocative anti-China remarks.
And his ambition and acting skills are crazy, he not only wants to be Japan's "emperor", but also fantasizes about being the "peak leader" of the US-Japan-South Korea summit.
It can be said that Emanuel's performance in Tokyo vividly shows us the hypocrisy, coercion and "China disease" of US diplomacy.
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In the past few days, US Ambassador to Japan Emmanuel has been unable to bear loneliness and has taken the China issue to gain attention.
This time, though, it's clearly a bit of a rollover. Even Bloomberg said Emanuel's remarks went against what American diplomats have always done. In general, U.S. diplomats avoid getting involved in speculation about the internal affairs of other countries.
However, Emmanuel, who characterized himself as "not so much like a diplomat", is expected to be not ashamed of this criticism, but rather proud of it.
After all, after he became the US ambassador to Japan, his main work direction was anti-China, and he used this as his capital to gain exposure in the United States and even return to the core of power in Washington one day.
Many people witnessed the actor-like acting of US Ambassador to Japan Emmanuel on the anti-China stage, after Japan released nuclear-contaminated water this time.
In the midst of protests in Japan and neighboring countries, he was the first to stand up and praise Japan's decision, saying that Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea was on the "right path." At the end of August, he also went to Fukushima and held a seafood "food show" with Fumio Kishida and Yoon Seok-yue.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Manuel eats seafood
If it comes here, then I am afraid that he will also be a hard-working US ambassador to Japan for nuclear contaminated water discharge, and there is still a certain gap from the acting school. After his performance, he shot directly at the media at China.
He told the media that he expects the United States to support Japan if China's ban on Japanese aquatic products turns into a dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO). He complained on behalf of Japan that since the nuclear contamination was discharged into the sea, "economic coercion, harassing phone calls and spreading false information inside and outside Japan have all been China's usual tactics and are all political tactics."
As if that wasn't enough, he also accused Fukushima Daiichi of discharging that the water discharged from the Fukushima Daiichi plant was safer than the water "dumped" by China's nuclear power plants, and even pulled out the cliché so-called Chinese overfishing problem.
It can be said that a big drama of "upside down black and white" was actually staged. And "turning black and white upside down", which seems very embarrassing to ordinary people, is very silky in Emmanuel.
In March, Emmanuel wrote in the Nikkei newspaper that China was using international trade as a weapon to force other countries to accept its political positions. He said that the current response is still inadequate, lacks a unified plan, and someone must take the lead in dealing with this "economic coercion."
Subsequently, Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao submitted an article to the "Japan Economic News" to refute this, and it was the United States itself that directly named the United States for economic coercion. Ambassador Wu also asked the United States three questions: First, when will the United States stop trampling on WTO rules? Second, when will the United States stop undermining free trade? Third, when will the United States stop waving the "sanctions stick"?
Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao contributed to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun
Not only that, Emanuel also engaged in a narrative on rumors of "China's economic coercion", falsely claiming that since Japan in 2010 and South Korea in 2017, these two countries have become victims of China's "very aggressive economic coercion", in an attempt to win Japan and South Korea into the US economic containment and suppression of China. In February, he made no secret of his unabashed statement in an interview with TV Tokyo that it is important for Japan to cooperate with the U.S. government to restrict chip technology exports to China.
In Japan, not only can Emanuel often see Emanuel's attacks on China in various public occasions and media platforms, but he is behind many familiar things, including the promotion of the Camp David meeting between the United States, Japan and South Korea, and the increase of Japan's defense budget.
In an interview with the US media, Emanuel boasted about his work in Japan, mainly mentioning four points: first, Japan agreed to increase the defense budget to 2% of GDP; Second, to help Japan acquire "counterattack capability" and change strategic thinking; Third, Japan passed a law similar to the U.S. Board of Investment Review (CFIUS); Fourth, Japan is urged to provide non-lethal assistance (certain defensive weapons) in international issues.
In fact, Emanuel declared in his appointment hearing that he believed the core of the job was to counter China and argued that Japan's increased defense spending was indispensable to the U.S.-Japan alliance.
It should be said that in Emmanuel, it almost perfectly confirms a Friedman evaluation of American diplomacy: this is the way the United States conducts diplomacy today, and the level is inferior, which is "breathtaking".
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And it is diplomats of such a level who are now "star ambassadors" against China in the American press.
You know, before becoming the US ambassador to Japan, Emanuel was scandal-ridden and controversial in US domestic politics.
In fact, at the beginning of the election, the Biden administration intended to appoint Emmanuel as the secretary of transportation, but due to Emmanuel's previous controversial nature in domestic politics, the nomination was shelved.
From being in charge of fundraising for the Clinton campaign, to serving three terms as an Illinois congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives, to the White House chief of staff in the Obama administration and the mayor of Chicago, Emanuel is a senior politician and political celebrity in the Democratic Party in the United States. But Emanuel's reputation in the later stages of his tenure as mayor of Chicago was arguably poor, and the Chicago Tribune rated Emmanuel's mayoral performance as "mixed", and at one point half of Chicagoans supported Emmanuel's resignation. Emanuel, who now frequently dictates the internal affairs of other countries, is best criticized for his handling of police shootings of black people during his tenure, and he has been accused of covering up the incident and allowing the police to use excessive force.
In addition, he is known for his "ruthless role" in American politics, with the nickname "Rambo" in politics, with a very hot temper and vulgar words. Fellow Democrats used to be called "fucking babies" and "those stupid, damn babies who can't shut up," and Andy Samberg's parody of this scene on Saturday Night Live has even become a classic in variety history.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Emmanuel
It can be said that Emanuel's performance in Tokyo vividly shows us the hypocrisy, coercion and "China disease" of US diplomacy.
While he was talking about China's so-called "economic coercion" against Japan and South Korea, what was he busy doing?
Yes, it is working with China.
As early as 2013, just two years after he became mayor of Chicago, he traveled to China and established the "China City and Chicago City Trade and Investment Cooperation Joint Working Group" with eight Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shenyang, Hangzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu, making Chicago the first city to conclude such a regional cooperation agreement with China.
In 2018, shortly after the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced the list of recommended products to impose tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese exports to the United States, the "2018 Chinese Cities and Chicago Investment Cooperation Forum with the United States" was held as scheduled, and Chicago signed a five-year cooperation plan with the above eight Chinese cities. In the eyes of the outside world, this is a milestone move for Chicago to expand cooperation with China.
Chicago Mayor Ram Emanuel was the one who used it as a key bargaining chip in his bid for the next mayor. According to him, the five-year cooperation has increased Chicago's trade with China by 100%, and he is also sure that "we will make more progress in the next five years." ”
Emanuel, who is now busy with anti-China, is estimated to never mention this past again (for the time being).
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To put it bluntly, for American political "old fritters" like Emanuel, anti-China is just a tool for him to win over Japan and South Korea and earn points for himself.
Emanuel is positioned more than just the U.S. ambassador to Japan. An anonymous Japanese official referred to him as the "chief of staff for Japan-US relations," and I am afraid that in his opinion he would prefer to be Japan's "Emperor Taishang" and need Japan to follow the direction of the American baton unconditionally.
Some media reports mentioned that when it comes to the U.S.-Japan alliance, Emanuel dabbles in almost all issues, including tasks that usually do not involve ambassadors. He even violated general principles by "accidentally" dialing the prime minister of South Korea, whom he had known for ten years and had just met in Seoul, rather than discussing the Tokyo-Seoul issue through the South Korean ambassador to Japan.
He now portrays himself as a key figure in strengthening the U.S.-Japan-South Korea alliance, even proclaiming that the trilateral summit will be held annually. For the benefits of the United States, it is obvious, but for the gains and losses of the interests, Japan and South Korea do not know whether they can be calculated.
Emmanuel in an interview
When asked in an interview with the US media how much Japan's military construction strategy is influenced by the United States, although Emanuel said that Japan is a sovereign country that makes its own decisions, he immediately stressed that Japan is a treaty ally of the United States with an important military presence, and the United States is very interested in this.
He even bluntly stated that the United States is the world's largest distributor of military weapons and equipment, and that promoting Japan's military buildup has at least two meanings: having a stronger neighbor ally; And help U.S. military manufacturers sell more hardware and software.
I don't know how Emmanuel showed his purpose of selling arms so obviously, how will the Japanese people feel when they hear it?
Emmanuel himself also revealed that after Biden invited him to serve as Japan's special envoy, he considered running for the post of ambassador to China, but ultimately decided that he was more suitable for his current position.
The reason he gave for this was that it was much better to work with allies than with "competitors", and his own "influence" would be a little greater.
It seems that the somewhat floating Emmanuel is still a little self-aware, and of course China cannot get used to him.
It is necessary to remind that Tokyo should also think clearly about what the "governor of Japan" and "Emperor Taishang" of the US ambassador to Japan have done.