Letter of Protest Demanding the Ambassador’s Immediate Resignation and the Establishment of Equitable Japan-U.S. Relations

August 30, 2024

The Embassy of the United States of America in Japan

H.E. Mr. Rahm EMANUEL, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Japan

対等な日米関係を求める国民有志の会

Letter of Protest Demanding the Ambassador’s Immediate Resignation and the Establishment of Equitable Japan-U.S. Relations

Your absence at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 9, owing to the city of Nagasaki's decision to uninvite Israel, was noted. The American atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were acts of genocide, war crimes nearly without parallel in the annals of human history.

Today, Israel has launched a retaliatory invasion of the Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas attack last October, leading to an indiscriminate campaign of mass killing against civilians. South Africa has filed a lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice, branding the Gaza offensive as “genocide.”

Nevertheless, you opted not to attend the ceremony in Nagasaki. You did so to defend Israel—accused of war crimes—and to protest against its exclusion along with Russia and Belarus, both of which were disinvited for their “invasion” of Ukraine.

Opinions in Japan are indeed divided over the city of Nagasaki’s decision not to invite Israel to the ceremony. Moreover, the issues surrounding Palestine and Ukraine are intricately tied to complex historical and political contexts, resulting in fragmented public perceptions.

However, it is the people of Japan who should deliberate and debate these matters. For you, as the representative of the aggressor nation responsible for the atomic bombings, to be absent from the ceremony over political disagreements is profoundly offensive to the Japanese people who wish to honor the victims and foster peace. Such an act is wholly unacceptable.

In particular, you have vigorously participated in political activities and demonstrations within our sovereign nation in support of Israel following its retaliatory onslaught on Palestine and have even exerted pressure on the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida concerning this issue.

When the Diet passed the LGBT Understanding Promotion Act​​ in June of last year, you were accused of overtly interfering in our internal affairs and advocating for legislation perceived by many Japanese as dismissive of their traditional culture. This action provoked significant discontent among the Japanese people. On July 4th of that year, marking America's Independence Day, we tried to submit a letter of protest to you. Regrettably, you declined to accept it, and it is deeply disappointing that you chose not to heed the concerns of our people.

Following the passage of the LGBT bill, you remarked that the Japanese people were in the process of evolving. Does this suggest that, in your view, the Japanese people were previously somehow less evolved, akin to yellow monkeys? Does this way of thinking not reflect the same racial and cultural prejudices that underpinned the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which deemed the Japanese as an uncivilized and barbaric race?

While you skipped the Nagasaki ceremony, you apparently decided to attend a memorial service for atomic bombing victims in Tokyo instead. But deep down, are you not seeing America’s atomic bombings as a form of justifiable retribution? At the very least, your actions suggest a lack of genuine remorse for the bombings and an inadequate feeling of sorrow for the victims.

Your absence from this year’s Peace Memorial Ceremony, your intervention concerning the LGBT bill last year, and your public political activities and demonstrations in defiance of our cultural norms are well beyond the expected bounds of a diplomatic representative and call into question your qualifications as an ambassador.

With growing international tensions surrounding Japan, including the threat posed by China’s quest for hegemony, the significance of the Japan-U.S. alliance is becoming increasingly paramount. True friendship, however, is built on mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty and culture, not on domination or subservience. Your imposition of specific values and interests, coupled with the arrogance reminiscent of a colonial governor-general, has strained the sentiments of the Japanese people towards the U.S. and jeopardized the positive relations between our two countries. Ambassador Emanuel, your actions endanger the very foundation of U.S.-Japan friendship!

We can no longer tolerate your presence as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan. Your arrogance and disrespect have demonstrated that you are unfit to represent the United States in our country.

Media reports suggest that you are slated to depart from your role as Ambassador in the coming November. Should you return home with an “honorable discharge,” there is no way to predict the potential harm you could further inflict on our country by ascending to a higher position within the Democratic Party.

In light of the profound vexation expressed by the Japanese people and in protest of your interference in Japan’s internal affairs, we, the petitioners, hereby demand your immediate resignation. We likewise strongly urge the US government to refrain from appointing any future ambassadors to Japan who are similarly unqualified.

At the same time, your recurring interference in Japan's internal affairs underscores a historical dependency on the U.S. that hearkens back to the postwar occupation by GHQ. This dynamic was vividly exemplified when President Joseph Biden arrived in Japan via the U.S. military base at Yokota—an enclave beyond Japan’s sovereignty—during last year’s G7 summit.

Various privileges, including extraterritoriality (exemption from domestic laws) granted to U.S. forces in Japan—a continuation of your occupation regime—have created a fertile ground for the entrenched policy of subservience by our government toward your country.

Therefore, to cultivate a genuine and equitable friendship with your country and effectively address the increasingly volatile international situation, Japan must reframe its alliance with the U.S. on a foundation of equality and mutual respect. This entails the return of Yokota Air Base—a poignant symbol of our subservience to the U.S.—and the revision of the Status of Forces Agreement to dismantle the prevailing U.S. military privileges in Japan.

On this symbolic day, on which General MacArthur landed at Atsugi Air Field to commence Japan’s postwar occupation, we call for your immediate resignation. Furthermore, we urge your government to renounce the vestiges of the occupation era and to establish a genuinely equitable and respectful relationship between Japan and the United States.