Embassy of the United States in Tokyo

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The U.S. Embassy, Tokyo, Japan. (2004)

The Embassy of the United States in Tokyo, along with consulates general in Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Naha, provides assistance to American citizens and issues travel visas to foreign nationals who wish to visit the United States.

The current U.S. Ambassador to Japan is John Thomas Schieffer who presented his credentials to the Emperor of Japan on April 11, 2005.

The embassy building was designed by African American architect Norma Merrick Sklarek.

1 Location
2 Controversy
3 Contact information
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Location

The embassy is located in the fashionable Akasaka neighborhood of Tokyo, steps away from the Nagatacho district, home of the Japanese legislature and the Prime Minister's residence. It is easily accessible via the Tokyo Metro Ginza or Namboku Lines Tamaike Sanno Station and conveniently located to the Hotel Okura.

[edit] Controversy

The land on which the embassy sits is about 13,000 m³, and is leased from the Japanese government. In 2007, Yomiuri Shinbun reported that the US government have made no payments for the embassy's premises since 1998. Foreign minister Taro Aso said that the average rents were only 2,500,000 Yen from 1993 to 1997. He also said this is a clearly unfair behavior and the Foreign Ministry starts the investigation.^[1]