Sweet or Bitter for Caroline?

President of the United States, Barack Obama, at last seems to have learned that it is name, not qualifications, for the Japanese to realize the importance of a person. He reportedly decided to appoint Caroline Kennedy, a daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, as U.S. Ambassador to Japan. Regardless the true reason of the choice, the Japanese expect her to do something good enough for her name value. The point is whether she realizes that.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan has been chosen in face-saving manners. Careers of former ambassadors include the Speaker of U.S. House of Representatives, Senate majority leader, Vice-President, or famous scholar. Kennedy is going to add “political celebrity” on the list. The Japanese will welcome Sweet Caroline as a symbol of close relationship between two nations, at the time they have to face the active move of China with enhancement of Japan-U.S. alliance.

However, it is not easy job for any U.S. Ambassador to Japan to tackle the accumulated issues to be solved. No exit is found for the relocation of Futenma Air Base with sound approval of the people in Okinawa. Deployment of MV-22 Osprey still faces consistent opposition. Toward current administration of Japan, U.S. takes sensitive distance on the issues of dispute with neighbor countries. While Obama administration has been willing to enhance the bilateral alliance, it showed negative attitude against reinterpretation of post-war history, which invited strong criticisms form China and Korea. Can Kennedy deal with all those issues without rich experience as a diplomat?

What she, and the government of U.S., cannot underestimate is the achievements of current Ambassador, John V. Roos. Although his job experience in Japan might not be clear for U.S. people, he is the representative of U.S. at the critical time of the Great East Japan Earthquake. He worked hard, in down-to-earth manner, to establish the relationship of both nations represented by the term, Tomodachi. He also is the first U.S Ambassador to Japan who attended the Peace Memorial Ceremony in Hiroshima on August 6^th, 2010, the decision which must have been disputable inside U.S. government. Kennedy is expected to do more, or at least the same.

There will be an opportunity for the Ambassador to say something hard to the government of Japan, namely in dealing with security in Northeast Asia. Communication between the two governments is much more complicated in the time of structural decline of power, led by economic difficulties. Maintenance of the alliance is not easier than what former ambassadors had gone through.