TOKYO — A top American diplomat, Kevin K. Maher, has been removed from his post after stirring outrage in Japan for reportedly belittling Okinawans, a State Department official said Thursday....

According to Japanese news reports, Mr. Maher told students at American University in Washington during a lecture in December that the Okinawans were “masters of manipulation and extortion.” Mr. Maher, who was head of the State Department’s Office of Japan Affairs, has called the news reports inaccurate and incomplete....