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U.S. Dept. of State
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U.S. Ambassadors to Japan

See below for Deputy Chiefs of Mission

Ambassadors: 1859-Present
Name Appointment Credentials presented Term of Mission
Townsend Harris 19 Jan. 1859 5 Nov. 1859 Presented recall, 26 Apr. 1862
Robert H. Pruyn 12 Oct. 1861 - Recommissioned after confirmation
22 Jan. 1862 17 May 1862 Left Japan 28 Apr. 1865
Chaubcey M. Depewl 15 Nov. 1865 - -
Robert B. Van Valkenburgh 18 Jan. 1866 4 May 1867 Presented recall, 11 Nov. 1869
Charles E. De Long 21 Apr. 1869 11 Nov. 1869 Promoted to EE/MP
14 July 1870 9 June 1872 Had Farewell Audience, 7 Oct. 1873
John A. Bingham 31 May 1873 7 Oct. 1873 Recommissioned after confirmation
Richard B. Hubbard 2 Apr. 1885 2 July 1885 Presented recall, 15 May 1889
John F. Swift 12 Mar 1889 15 May 1889 Died at post, 10 May 1891
Frank L. Coombs 20 Apr. 1892 13 June 1892 Presented recall, 14 July 1893
Edwin Dun 4 Apr. 1893 14 July 1893 Presented recall, 2 July 1897
Alfred E. Buck 13 Apr. 1897 3 July 1893 Died at post, 4 December 1902
Lloyd C. Griscom 16 Dec. 1902 22 June 1903 Left Japan 19 November 1905
Luke E. Wright 25 Jan.1906 26 May 1906 Left Japan August 1907
Thomas J. O'Brien 11 June 1907 15 Oct. 1907 Recommissioned after confirmation
12 Dec. 1907 - Left post, 31 August 1911
Charles Page Bryan 12 Aug. 1911 22 Nov. 1911 Left post, 1 October 1912
Larz Anderson 14 Nov. 1912 1 Feb. 1913 Recommissioned after confirmation
1 Mar. 1913 - Left Japan, 15 March 1913
George W. Guthrie 20 May 1913 7 Aug. 1913 Died at post, 8 March 1917
Roland S. Morris 1 Aug. 1917 30 Oct. 1917 Left Japan, 15 May 1920
Charles B. Warren 29 June 1921 24 Sept. 1921 Left Japan, 28 January 1922
Cyrus E. Woods 3 Mar. 1923 21 July 1923 Left Japan, 5 June 1924
Edgar A. Bancroft 23 Sept. 1924 19 Nov. 1924 Recommissioned after confirmation
21 Jan. 1925 - Died at Karuizawa, 27 July 1925
Charles MacVeagh 24 Sept. 1925 9 Dec. 1925 Recommissioned after conformation
17 Dec. 1925 - Left Japan, 6 December 1928
William R. Castle, Jr. 11 Dec. 1929 24 Jan. 1930 Left Japan, 27 May 1930
W. Cameron Forbes 17 June 1930 25 Sept. 1930 Left Japan, 22 March 1932
Joseph C. Grew 19 Feb. 1932 14 June 1932 Japan declared war on the U.S., 8 Dec. 1941 (Tokyo Time)
Robert D. Murphy 18 Apr. 1952 9 May 1952 Relinquished charge, 28 April 1953
John M. Allison 2 Apr. 1953 28 May 1953 Left post, 2 Feb. 1957
Douglas MacArthur 4 Dec. 1956 - Recommissioned after confirmation
29 Jan. 1957 25 Feb. 1957 Left post, 12 March 1961
Edwin O. Reischauer 29 Mar. 1961 27 Apr. 1961 Left post, 19 August 1966
U. Alexis Johnson 1 Sept. 1966 8 Nov. 1966 Left post, 15 January 1969
Armin H. Meyer 27 May 1969 3 Jul. 1969 Left post, 27 March 1972
Robert S. Ingersoll 29 Feb. 1972 12 Apr. 1972 Left post, 8 November 1973
James D. Hodgson 20 Jun. 1974 19 Jul. 1974 Left post, 5 February 1977
Michael J.Mansfield 22 Apr. 1977 10 June 1977 Left post, 22 December 1988
Michael H. Armacost 20 Apr. 1989 15 May 1989 Left post, 19 July 1993
Walter F. Mondale 13 Aug. 1993 22 Sep. 1993 Left post, 14 December 1996
Thomas S. Foley 6 Nov. 1997 19 Nov. 1997 Left post, April 1, 2001
Howard H. Baker, Jr. 23 May 2001 5 July 2001 Left post, 17 February 2005
John Thomas Schieffer 17 March 2005 11 April 2005

Deputy Chiefs of Mission

Name Appointed Title
A.L. C. Portman June 27, 1861 Secretary & Interpreter
J. C. Hepburn

April 6, 1871

Interpreter

Durham W. Stevens

August 6, 1873

Secretary of Legation

Gustavus Goward

January 23, 1883

Secretary of Legation

Fred S. Mansfield

November 12, 1885

Secretary of Legation

Edwin Dun

September 3, 1889

Secretary of Legation

Joseph R. Herod

March 8, 1895

Secretary of Legation

Huntington Wilson

October 10, 1900

Secretary of Legation

H. Percival Dodge

August 8, 1906

Secretary of Embassy

Peter Augustus Jay

June 21, 1907

Secretary of Embassy

Montgomery Schuyler

December 21, 1908

Secretary of Embassy

Arthur Bailly-Blanchard

February 1, 1912

Secretary of Embassy

Post Wheeler

June 3, 1914

Secretary of Embassy

John Van A. MacMurray

November 10, 1917

Counselor

Hugh R. Wilson

August 19, 1921

Counselor

Jefferson Caffery

September 5, 1923

Counselor

Norman Armour

June 25, 1925

Counselor of Embassy

Edwin L. Neville

April 12, 1928

Counselor of Embassy

Eugene H. Dooman

January 5, 1937

Counselor of Embassy

Embassy Closed December 8, 1941
Embassy re-established April 28, 1953

William T. Turner

April 10, 1953

Counselor

J. Graham Parsons

July 18, 1953

Counselor of Embassy

Outerbridge Horsey

April 22, 1956

Minister-Counselor

William Leonhart

December 28, 1958

Minister-Counselor

John K. Emmerson

July 22, 1962

DCM

David L. Osborn

January 1967

DCM

Richard L. Sneider

September 1969

DCM

Thomas P. Shoesmith

July 1972

DCM

William C. Sherman

July 1977

DCM

William Clark, Jr.

October 1981

DCM

L. Desaix Anderson

June 1985

DCM

William T. Breer

September 1989

DCM

Rust M. Deming

October 1993

DCM

Christopher J. LaFleur November 1998 DCM
Richard A. Christenson July 2001 DCM
Michael W. Michalak April 2004 DCM
Joseph R. Donovan August 2005 DCM