Photo/Illutration Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage during an interview in October 2019 near Washington, D.C. (Yuko Lanham)

Japanese officials paid tribute to former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage who died on April 13 for his work in strengthening ties between the two nations and his influence on Japan's security and foreign policies. 

Armitage was 79.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed his condolences on April 15.

“He had deep knowledge of U.S. policy toward Japan and devoted himself to strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance,” Ishiba said. “I would like to pay my respects to him once again.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi also paid tribute.

Under former President George W. Bush's administration, Armitage “led diplomatic efforts toward Japan, contributing greatly to the unprecedented strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance today,” Hayashi said at a news conference on April 15.

“He continued to work tirelessly on policy proposals and personal exchanges, contributing greatly to the promotion of understanding between Japan and the U.S., regardless of party affiliation,” Hayashi said. 

After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, Armitage served in the Vietnam War.

Much later, he compiled a U.S. policy document on Japan in 2000 known as the Armitage-Nye Report alongside Joseph Nye, the assistant sectary of defense for international security affairs under former President Bill Clinton.

The report urged Japan to lift restrictions on its right to collective self-defense, and this later became the source of the security-related law passed in 2015.

Armitage served as deputy secretary of state from 2001 to 2005.

After retiring from the role, he continued to actively make proposals concerning the Japan-U.S. alliance and interacted with Japanese government officials until his later years. 

One instance was a meeting with then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a visit to Japan in May 2024.

In January of this year, he met with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, who attended the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

Armitage raised ideas that were difficult for the Japanese public to accept.

“He understood Japan's situation and circumstances, and took steps to prevent Japan-U.S. relations from deteriorating,” a senior official at the prime minister’s office recalled. “He must have had a sense of crisis that the alliance would not survive if (Japan) did not proceed with the right of collective self-defense.” 

As the Japan-U.S. relationship has been rocked by the demands of Trump and others, Armitage’s passing has left those in the the Japanese government feeling that “an era has come to an end.”

A former Foreign Ministry official previously stationed in the United States said, “It feels like we have lost someone we can rely on without hesitation.”

“There will be no more people like him on the American side,” the former official mourned.

(This article was compiled from reports by correspondent Ryo Kiyomiya, Azusa Kato and Yoshiyuki Komurata.)

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