(Update) Ex-U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Armitage Dies at 79

   Washington, April 14 (Jiji Press)--Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, a prominent Japan expert, died on Sunday at the age of 79, his consulting firm said Monday.
   According to Armitage International, established by Armitage, he died from pulmonary embolism.
   He proposed the modernization of the Japan-U.S. alliance. A bipartisan expert group including Armitage and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Joseph Nye released six policy recommendation reports from 2000, greatly influencing Japan's foreign policy.
   Armitage, born in Massachusetts in April 1945, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. He held important posts at the Defense Department in the 1980s after his military service during Vietnam War.
   He served as deputy secretary of state between 2001 and 2005 under the administration of then President George W. Bush.

(2025/04/15-15:15)