In News Focus #40, we head to Tokyo to hear about Caroline Kennedy who has become the first female U.S. ambassador in Japan. She has already visited areas devastated by the 2011 tsunami and shown that she understands the important issues that Japan faces domestically and internationally. While no one doubts her intelligence and sincerity, many people are surprised that Obama has appointed a person with no previous political or diplomatic experience. Is it enough that she is the daughter of JFK, one of America s finest presidents? Should Japanese people expect more? To find out more click here. Caroline Kennedy Steps Into the Limelight November 25, 2013 Tokyo, Japan Caroline Kennedy has made her first official visit as the new U.S. ambassador to Japan. Just days after arriving in Tokyo, Kennedy traveled to the northeast of the country to visit areas devastated by the 2011 tsunami. In Minamisanriku she sat down for tea with women who survived the disaster. Of 197 homes in the district, only nine were left standing after the waters swept through the area. Kennedy talked with the women about their lives in temporary housing units and told the survivors that she admired their courage and resilience. Kennedy is adapting to her new life in the public eye. Despite her famous family, she has until now led a relatively quiet life. Last week, many people turned out to see the newly appointed ambassador ride through the streets of Tokyo in a horse-drawn carriage. Kennedy was on her way to present herself to Emperor Akihito, and although she was just one of several new ambassadors to visit the emperor, she was the only one to attract media attention. And the reason for all the attention is that Caroline Kennedy is the only living child of former president John F. Kennedy. Surrounded by politics, it is perhaps surprising that Ms. Kennedy has steered away from the political world until recently. Kennedy is no career diplomat (although her grandfather Joseph Kennedy was an ambassador to the UK, and her aunt Jean was an ambassador to Ireland) and has instead focused on education and writing. While some commentators think the new ambassador is too lightweight, Kennedy has done well so far. The ambassador has talked knowledgeably about major issues that she will face while in Japan: Japan s dormant economy; the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade framework; tensions with China over the Senkaku Islands; and the relocation of an important U.S. Marine Corps base in Okinawa. The ambassador is clearly aware that she must work hard to become an essential link between the two countries at this crucial point in their relationship. The records show us that previous ambassadors fall into three categories. There are academic experts on Japan, like the acclaimed scholar Edwin Reischauer. Secondly, there are political heavyweights, such as Michael Mansfield, a long-time Democrat majority leader of the U.S. Senate, former Vice President Walter Mondale and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Thomas Foley. Thirdly, there are ambassadors personally appointed by the president of the U.S.A., such as Thomas Schieffer, a former business partner of President George W. Bush, and Obama's choice of John Roos, a noted Silicon Valley lawyer, in 2009. Caroline Kennedy falls
into this last category. In the campaign for the 2008 U.S. presidential election, she supported a relatively unknown Democrat senator, Barack Obama. She wrote in The New York Times: I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president -- not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans. Her early backing for the inexperienced senator persuaded many other important people, including her uncle Senator Ted Kennedy, to support Obama s presidential campaign. And in return for that valuable support, the president has now appointed Kennedy as his ambassador to Japan. There is no question that Kennedy brings enormous star quality to the Tokyo post, but many question whether that is enough. They point to earlier American ambassadors, like Edwin Reischauer, Mike Mansfield, Walter Mondale and Howard Baker, who brought vital high-powered connections to the key position. Others argue that while Kennedy may lack experience, she has the most important connection of all! She is one of few people who can pick up the phone and call the White House and ask to be put through to the president. A strong, politically savvy woman is just what Japan and the United States need to strengthen relations on both sides of the Pacific, Shihoko Goto of the Woodrow Wilson International Center wrote recently. If things go well for the new ambassador, Goto believes she will prove to both countries the importance of female leadership. However, Goto stressed that for this to happen, Kennedy has to come out of her father s shadow and become a top diplomat in her own right.
[President Obama appoints America s first female ambassador to Japan.] [A] READING CHECK Are these sentences correct (C) or incorrect (I)? 1. The tsunami survivors traveled to Tokyo to meet Kennedy. (C) (I) 2. The new ambassador will soon visit the emperor to introduce herself formally. (C) (I) 3. Kennedy has previously worked as the Senator for New York. (C) (I) 4. A former U.S. ambassador to Japan, Mondale was once the vice president of the U.S.A. (C) (I) 5. Thomas Schieffer, another ambassador, was a respected Japanese scholar. (C) (I) 6. Caroline Kennedy helped to persuade many people to support Obama. (C) (I) 7. Before coming to Japan, Kennedy worked with Obama in the White House. (C) (I) 8. Goto believes that Kennedy could become an important role model for women. [B] SUMMARY Complete the summary using the words in the box below. (C) (I) an essential appointed backing career diplomat connections former issues politically savvy ran for scholar The only living child of [ ] [1] president John F. Kennedy, Caroline has grown up surrounded by politics. Both her grandfather and her aunt served as ambassadors, while her uncle Ted Kennedy was a respected senior senator who once [ ] [2] president. Ms. Kennedy, however, is no [ ] [3] but, despite that, she has talked knowledgeably about the major [ ] [4] that she will face while in Japan. The ambassador is clearly aware that she must work hard to become [ ] [5] link between the two countries at this crucial point in their relationship. In the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, Caroline s early [ ] [6] for Obama persuaded many other important people to support the inexperienced young senator. In return for that valuable support the president [ ] [7] Kennedy as the ambassador to Japan. While Kennedy is no [ ] [8] and does lack experience, she has some useful [ ] [9] in Washington and in the White House. Some commentators predict that she will become a very good diplomat once she steps out of her father s shadow and shows that she is a strong, [ ] [10] woman. [C] Discussion topic: Obama has made a good appointment Below, four speakers discuss the topic. Which speakers are positive about her appointment? Which speakers are negative about her appointment? 1. Stephen White There s only one way to describe Ms. Kennedy: she s an amateur with no political experience. She
doesn t speak Japanese and has no academic or professional background in foreign affairs. Frankly, compared with other former U.S. ambassadors to Japan, such as Mike Mansfield or Walter Mondale, she's a political apprentice. She will do fine until her first misstep on policy. Then, as history has shown us, the Japanese public will turn on her. They will wonder -- publicly and loudly -- why Obama selected such a greenhorn for such an important post. When that happens the U.S. government will withdraw their support for her as well. I m very nervous about her appointment. 2. Peter Middleton Sure, Ambassador Kennedy has not held political office, but it s not as if she doesn t understand politics. She s been immersed in politics all her life -- from her father who was president, to her uncle who was a senator and a presidential candidate. And let s not forget that she went to Columbia Law School, graduating in the top ten percent of her class! Back in 1991, Kennedy wrote a book called, In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights In Action. OK, she co-wrote it with Ellen Alderman, but she clearly understands the key issues. But I m most impressed with her work from 2002 through 2004 as director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships for the New York City Department of Education. In that capacity, she helped raise millions of dollars for the city s public schools. I m pretty confident that she will be instrumental in smoothing Japan s relations with neighboring countries such as China and North Korea. She s a good communicator and I expect her to help the US communicate with Japan on key issues. 3. Dorothy Tibold I think the key factor to focus on is what the host country feels about the new ambassador. It s important to remember that back in the 1960s JFK made a big point about wanting to improve relations with Japan. That's just one of the reasons why the US-Japan alliance is so strong today. The Japanese people understand that President Kennedy contributed to the special relationship between the two nations and because of that they see his daughter in a positive light. They recognize that Ms. Kennedy is extremely intelligent and is determined to strengthen the bond between the U.S. and Japan. I don t think we have anything to worry about - I think she ll go down in history as a very influential ambassador, in the same mold as Edwin Reischauer. 4. Joanne Merrell Kennedy s support for Barack Obama during the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign put her in the national spotlight, and it was widely expected that she would run as the senator from New York. Kennedy, however, surprised everyone by declining to run for personal reasons. Since then the Obama administration has been considering how to get her into national politics and they ve decided to give her a diplomatic appointment. Japan is a perfect posting for an amateur diplomat like Kennedy. True, Japan faces a number of serious domestic issues, and there are territorial disputes over the northern territories, Takeshima and the Senkaku Islands. But none of these is likely to result in military conflict. So, I think that she ll have no problems and this posting will serve as a steppingstone for her next job in politics whatever that is. I don t personally agree with non-career diplomats becoming ambassadors, but I think Kennedy will do OK. I m neither positive nor negative about her appointment.
[D] What s Your Opinion? After reading the article (exercise A) and the follow-up discussions (exercise C), can you answer these questions about the Kennedy family? 1: What do you know about President John F. Kennedy? 2: Had you heard about Caroline Kennedy before she was appointed ambassador to Japan? 3: What do you think Caroline Kennedy should focus on during her posting to Japan? 4: Do you think that Ms. Kennedy will be a good ambassador? Why? Why not? 5: Who would be a good non-career Japanese ambassador to the U.S.A.?
Answers:Kennedy Steps into the Limelight [A] READING CHECK 1. The tsunami survivors traveled to Tokyo to meet Kennedy. (I) [Kennedy traveled to the devastated area to meet the survivors.] 2. The new ambassador will soon visit the emperor to introduce herself formally. (I) [She has all ready visited the emperor.] 3. Kennedy has previously worked as the Senator for New York. (I) [She is a political apprentice and has never worked in politics.] 4. A former U.S. ambassador to Japan, Mondale, was once the vice president of the U.S.A. (C) [He served under President Jimmy Carter.] 5. Thomas Schieffer, another ambassador, was a respected Japanese scholar. (C) [He was a former business partner of George W. Bush.] 6. Caroline Kennedy helped to persuade many people to support Obama. (C) 7. Before coming to Japan, Kennedy worked with Obama in the White House. (I) [She has no political experience.] 8. Goto believes that Kennedy could become an important role model for women. (C) [He thinks she could be a role model for both American and Japanese women.] [B] SUMMARY The only living child of [former] president John F. Kennedy, Caroline has grown up surrounded by politics. Both her grandfather and her aunt served as ambassadors, while her uncle Ted Kennedy was a respected senior senator who once [ran for] president. Ms. Kennedy, however, is no [career diplomat] but, despite this she has talked knowledgeably about the major [issues] that she will face while in Japan. The ambassador is clearly aware that she must work hard to become [an essential] link between the two countries at this crucial point in their relationship. In the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, Caroline s early [backing] for Obama persuaded many other important people to support the inexperienced young senator. In return for that valuable support the president [appointed] Kennedy as the ambassador to Japan. While Kennedy is not an academic [scholar] and does lack experience, she has some useful [connections] in Washington and in the White House. Some commentators predict that she will become a very good diplomat once she steps out of her father s shadow and shows that she is a strong, [politically savvy] woman. [C] Discussion topic: We can improve our own wellbeing Speaker 1.: [negative about the appointment] Speaker 2.: [positive about the appointment] Speaker 3.: [positive about the appointment] Speaker 4.: [neither positive nor negative about the appointment]