U.S. replaces diplomat for alleged remarks disparaging Okinawa

Seeking to contain the fallout from very undiplomatic remarks by a U.S. diplomat, the United States on Thursday mollified Japan by replacing the official who allegedly said Okinawans practiced "extortion." In Tokyo, officials were visibly pleased at the speed with which Washington moved to ensure there would be no rupture in U.S. relations with Japan. Kurt Campbell, the visiting U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, informed Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto in a meeting Thursday morning that Kevin Maher, director of Japan affairs at the State Department, had been replaced by Rust Deming, according to a...