The Japanese press is going crazy over an anonymous source in Washington who is telling them that Wilson Sonsini CEO John Roos is going to be nominated soon to be President Obama’s ambassador to Japan.
The Associated Press picked up the story from the Kyodo news service, but didn’t have a byline, which tells us they didn’t confirm it themselves:
At least six Japanese newspapers are reporting the news as fact. Unfortunately, one of them, the Mainichi Daily News, was certain who the nominee would be last month.
Hint: It wasn’t Roos — after the jump.
Joseph Nye, a Harvard University professor emeritus and former assistant secretary of defense, had apparently confirmed he was being considered for the post.
The White House has not issued an announcement on any nomination to the post. Roos did not return a call and an email requesting comment. A firm spokeswoman declined to comment on whether Roos was a candidate or had been selected:
“Unfortunately we're not in a position to comment on the speculation in the press at this time,” she wrote in an e-mail.
Roos was one of Obama’s earlier supporters and a big fundraiser during his presidential campaign.
A corporate lawyer, Roos has been CEO of Wilson Sonsini since 2005, and a partner at the firm since 1988. His biography does not list any political or diplomatic experience, or foreign language expertise.
Mark Lemley, an Obama adviser and professor at Stanford Law School who is well connected in Silicon Valley, was mum on any coming announcements.
“Sorry, but I know nothing,” he wrote in an e-mail.
Not that that’s stopping the Japanese press …
— Amanda Royal
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