|
 "I bring greetings from President Obama," she said in a short
statement after getting off the plane with her husband Edwin
Schlossberg at Narita airport.
Japan hopes the 55-year-old daughter of late President John F.
Kennedy will work closely with Barack Obama to tackle some urgent
U.S.-Japan matters, analysts said.
Her close ties to Obama come from playing a pivotal role during the
Democratic presidential primaries in 2008 by endorsing him when
Hillary Clinton was the lead candidate.
"What's important here is her strong pipeline with Obama and an
ability to be able to pick up the phone and speak with Obama
directly in the middle of the night for consultation on urgent
matters," said Ryuichi Teshima, professor of diplomacy at Keio
University in Tokyo.
As the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Japan, Kennedy may
also be a role model in a country that traditionally has restricted
the role of women, said Toshihiro Nakayama, professor of
international politics at Aoyama Gakuin University.
"I am also proud to carry forward my father's legacy of public
service," Kennedy said. "He had hoped to be the first U.S. president
to visit Japan. So it is a special honor for me to be able to work
to strengthen the close ties between our two great countries."
U.S.-Japan relations are generally on an even keel, but Obama and
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are not as close as some would
like. "The chemistry is off, possibly because Obama does not support
the right-wing views Abe holds," Teshima said.
[to top of second column] |
Major bilateral issues include the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade
talks, the relocation of a U.S. military base on Okinawa and a
revamp of defense cooperation guidelines between the two countries.
U.S. ambassadors to Japan can be grouped into three categories,
Nakayama said. They are big political names, Japan experts and those
with close ties to the president. Former U.S. Vice President Walter
Mondale and former Senator Mike Mansfield fall into the first type.
Edwin Reischauer, President Kennedy's envoy, would be the second.
Nakayama puts Caroline Kennedy, an attorney and author, in the third
group, along with her predecessor, John Roos, a Silicon Valley
lawyer and Obama fundraiser, and Tom Schieffer, who was George W.
Bush's business partner in the Texas Rangers baseball team.
[Associated
Press; YURIKO NAGANO]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
