[1] In addition to serving as Japan's diplomatic mission in the United States, the embassy provides Japanese consular services to residents of the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland.

[7][8] The United States Commission of Fine Arts approved the design of the building on September 16, 1930.

[7][8][10] As originally designed, the embassy consisted of the ambassador's residence, two chancery buildings with strong Japanese architectural influence, a tea house, and tennis, gym, and other recreational facilities.

[13] Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the embassy was seized by the United States government and re-purposed to house the Far Eastern Commission.

[2] In 1959, then-Ambassador Koichiro Asagai and Tatsunosuke Takasaki, a member of the House of Representatives of the National Diet, proposed creating a replica of the rock garden at Ryōan-ji at the Japanese embassy.

Constructed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first Japanese embassy to the United States, the scaled-down garden was finished in 1960.

[17] The project consolidated chancery offices from two rented buildings elsewhere in the District into a single structure on the embassy grounds.

[20] President Joe Biden visited the embassy in July 2022, after the Assassination of the former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe[21] to pay respect and tribute.