TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Deputy Director Raymond Greene has been picked by the Biden administration to replace Joseph Young as the charge d’affaires at the U.S. embassy in Japan.

Japanese and American diplomatic sources revealed on Thursday (June 10) that Greene had been selected to take over as early as July, Kyodo News reported. Joseph Young, who has been charge d’affaires for almost two years, is scheduled to step down in mid-June.

Greene has extensive experience working in East Asia. He previously served as chief of the Political-Military Affairs Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and deputy chief of the Political Section at AIT Taipei, according to AIT. He has also served as the consul general in Okinawa, Japan and Chengdu, China. He was assigned to the post of AIT deputy director in 2018.

Greene’s new posting sends a strong message to China expressing U.S.-Japan solidarity, Kyodo News cited a U.S. government source as saying. Officials from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also welcomed the news saying U.S.-Japan support for Taiwan will strengthen.

The post of U.S. ambassador to Japan has been vacant since the former ambassador, Bill Hagerty, resigned in July 2019.