Tokyo, Japan - The outgoing US ambassador to Japan has called China, North Korea, and Iran an "axis of autocrats" while touting America as the global policeman protecting democracy.

Rahm Emanuel told reporters that the three countries should be considered an "axis of autocrats" due to their support of Russia in its war against Ukraine.

Beijing has faced sanctions from Washington due to its provision of technology to Russia which has reportedly been used to manufacture weaponry.

In October, Chinese company Xiamen Limbach Aircraft Engine Co. Ltd. was sanctioned due to its manufacturing of engines that have been used by Moscow in military drones.

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Emanuel was scathing of China in particular, and touted the US as the "thin blue line" which protects democracy against Beijing's economic and geopolitical strategies.

"The United States is that thin blue line between autocracy, where might equals right, and rules, laws, principles and values," the ambassador told reporters.

"The world is shrinking, consolidating, and shaping, and the United States has to respond to that."

Emanuel is set to leave his position as US ambassador to Japan in the coming weeks, as President-elect Donald Trump returns to office after his stomping victory in the 2024 election.

Before assuming the ambassador position, Emanuel was the mayor of Chicago between 2011 and 2019. His eight-year tenure was scarred by accusations that he did not do enough to reduce poverty or combat police violence against the Black community.

Following the 2014 shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald at the hands of a white police officer, Emanuel faced accusations of suppressing the release of a critical dashboard video recording.

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His tenure as Japanese ambassador also had its ups and downs. In August 2024, he boycotted the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in protest of Israel's exclusion from the event.

"The Indo-Pacific is a home game for China and an away game for the United States. With our allies, we level the playing field," Emanuel told reporters on Friday.

"Part of the entire strategy of China is to isolate a country in this region and use their full force and power to isolate that country and limit and restrict their both sovereignty and independence," Emanuel said.