Biden’s Japan Envoy Pick Vows to Make Nissan Executive Case a Priority

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel gives his opening statement during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on his nomination to be the United States Ambassador to Japan, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Oct. 20, 2021. Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

WASHINGTON—Rahm Emanuel, nominee to be the next U.S. ambassador to Tokyo, vowed at his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday to prioritize the case of an American former Nissan Motor executive who is facing a possible prison term in Japan.

In September, Japanese prosecutors asked a Tokyo court to send the executive, Greg Kelly, to prison for two years for his alleged part in helping Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s ousted CEO, hide earnings.