Michael Armacost obit

Former US Ambassador to Japan Michael Armacost dies at 87

 

He was not on the list.

Former US Ambassador to Japan Michael Armacost has died at the age of 87. He was known as "Mr. Gaiatsu," or "Mr. Foreign Pressure," for pushing Japan to dispatch its Self-Defense Forces during the 1991 Gulf War.

Armacost was born in the US Midwestern state of Ohio in 1937. He earned his doctorate in public law and government in 1965 from Columbia University before entering the State Department.

He became special assistant to the US ambassador to Japan from 1972 to 1974. After serving as ambassador to the Philippines and under secretary of state, Armacost was appointed as ambassador to Japan in 1989 under Republican President George H.W. Bush.

He urged Japan to dispatch the Self-Defense Forces during the Gulf War and also to proceed with deregulation, such as opening the rice market.

He was acting United States Secretary of State during the early days of the administration of President George H. W. Bush, before Secretary James Baker was confirmed by the Senate. Armacost also served as United States Ambassador to Japan and the president of the Brookings Institution from 1995 to 2002.

He retired after four years and took up the position of president of the Brookings Institution. He later served as a distinguished fellow at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University, until 2021.

Armacost's family says he died at his home near San Francisco on Saturday.