Mansfield, U.S. Envoy to Japan, to Resign
U.S. Ambassador Mike Mansfield, one of Japan’s best foreign friends, announced today he is retiring at age 85.
Mansfield, whose service to the United States started at 14 when he was an under-age enlistee in the Navy, told a packed news conference at the U.S. Embassy that he and his wife, Maureen, had waited until after the U.S. presidential election to make their decision.
“We decided it was time for me to resign at the will of the president, and that has been done,” he said.
Mansfield, a Montana Democrat, set longevity records in his 16 years as U.S. Senate majority leader and in his 11 years as envoy in the crucial Tokyo post under Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
In January, he had coronary bypass surgery, causing a renewal of speculation that he might retire, but he returned to the Tokyo Embassy last spring.
He said he would leave Tokyo before the first of the year.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
