U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy with Japan's Vice Defense Minister Ryota Takeda in 2013. Reports of the death threats to Ambassador Kennedy came shortly after she hosted a symposium in Tokyo, where former President Bill Clinton and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were in attendance. UPI/Keizo Mori |
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TOKYO, March 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy and a second U.S. diplomat have been subjected to anonymous death threats that have placed the State Department on high alert ahead of First Lady Michelle Obama's visit to Asia on Wednesday.
The BBC reported Japanese police are looking into phone calls made to the U.S. embassy in Tokyo in February. The reason for the threatening calls was not revealed, but U.S. Consul General Alfred Magleby, who is based in Okinawa, was also targeted.
Roughly 50,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed in Japan, and 62 percent of U.S. military bases in Japan are located in Okinawa.
The death threats to Ambassador Kennedy came two weeks after the knife attack on another top U.S. envoy, Mark Lippert, in Seoul.
The New York Times reported the State Department has responded to the threats and said it will work with the Japanese government to protect U.S. personnel as Michelle Obama begins her Asia trip, which is intended to raise awareness of the importance of girls' education.
The phone call, reported The Asahi Shimbun, was made by an English-speaking male who said "I will kill Ambassador Kennedy."
Reports of the death threats came on the same day after Ambassador Kennedy hosted a symposium in Tokyo, where former President Bill Clinton and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were in attendance.
The purpose of the event was to reflect on the legacy of John F. Kennedy, the ambassador's father, who was assassinated when she was six.
