Reports: Kennedy threatened in Japan

TOKYO -- Police in Japan are investigating telephoned death threats to U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and to a U.S. diplomat in Okinawa, Japanese and international news agencies reported Wednesday.

The reports came as Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, appeared with former President Bill Clinton and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a Tokyo symposium on the legacy of her father, who was assassinated in November 1963 when she was 6 years old.

Concern about the security of U.S. diplomats in Asia was heightened a few weeks ago when the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was slashed by a knife-wielding assailant in Seoul.

Responding to the reported death threats, State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said Wednesday in a statement: "We take any threats to U.S. diplomats seriously. We take every step possible to protect our personnel. We are working with the Japanese government to ensure the necessary measures are in place. We will not comment on the specific details of any threats or the steps we take to address them."

The reports said Kennedy and Alfred Magleby -- the U.S. consul-general in Okinawa, the southern island where the United States maintains a large military presence -- had been the objects of death threats in telephone calls last month. It was not clear why the threats were not made public earlier.

The accounts included a report by the Asahi Shimbun, a major Japanese newspaper, that said the U.S. Embassy had received calls from an English-speaking man, who was quoted as saying, "I will kill Ambassador Kennedy." The newspaper did not name the source of its report, and embassy officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Kennedy, who took up her post in late 2013, is widely admired in Japan, as is her father, although she has ruffled feathers.

A year ago she caused a stir by expressing concern about the traditional dolphin hunt in the Japanese town of Taiji, calling it inhumane. Under her tenure, the U.S. Embassy also criticized Abe for visiting a war shrine that other Asian countries view as a symbol of Japan's imperialist past.

Despite the security concerns, first lady Michelle Obama also arrived in Japan on her first visit to the country.

The visit to Japan by Obama, who has Secret Service protection, is part of an Asian tour meant to emphasize the importance of educating girls. She is scheduled to depart Friday for Cambodia.

Information for this article was contributed by Michael R. Gordon of The New York Times.

A Section on 03/19/2015

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