Japan police probe US envoy death threats
Print Edition
Tokyo police are investigating death threats against United States Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy and another American diplomat, according to media reports.
The US Embassy in Tokyo received the threats by telephone last month, with several phone calls made by an English-speaking man, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing a Tokyo police official.
The threats also targeted the US consul general in Okinawa, Alfred Magleby, according to Yomiuri and other Japanese and US media reports yesterday.
Okinawa is home to about half of the 50,000 American troops based in Japan.
State Department spokeswoman Pen Psaki said the US government takes threats to American diplomats seriously.
“We are working with the Japanese government to ensure the necessary measures are in place. We will not comment on the specific details of any threats or the steps we take to address them,” she said.
The threat reports come two weeks after the US ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was injured in a knife attack during an event in Seoul.
That attack prompted debate about threats against American diplomats abroad and the security precautions taken to protect US ambassadors in particular. The State Department said security for Lippert was adequate.
Security for US ambassadors worldwide is based on assessments by experts from the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, according to the department. Lippert had been assigned a single South Korean National Police bodyguard but saw his security boosted after the attack to include several other police officers.
Earlier this month, department spokeswoman Marie Harf said she was not aware of plans to boost diplomatic security elsewhere following the attack.
It was not clear what kind of security has been assigned to Kennedy, the daughter of former US President John F Kennedy. She began her assignment in Japan in November 2013.
The reports emerged as First Lady Michelle Obama arrived in Japan for a three-day visit.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
