Japanese police have arrested a man in connection with telephone threats made to the U.S. Embassy and American Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, the State Department said on Thursday.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said a 52-year-old man from Okinawa was apprehended by police in Japan but did not provide further details.
"We take any threats very seriously — we have been working for weeks with the Japanese government," she said.
The suspect, identified as Mitsuyoshi Kamiya, has admitted to having made such phone calls three times, threatening to bomb the embassy and a U.S. military base in Okinawa, between March 5 and 14, the Metropolitan Police Department said, according to earlier reports.
Reports of the threats emerged as first lady Michelle Obama arrived in Japan on Wednesday for a three-day visit, including a meeting with diplomatic staff from Tokyo and Osaka.
The reports came two weeks after the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was injured by a man with a knife.
Psaki said the threats in Japan began before Lippert was attacked and the events were not connected.