海角大神

Former first daughter聽Caroline聽Kennedy聽coasted through a Senate confirmation hearing to be the next U.S. ambassador to Japan, promising to carry forward John F.聽Kennedy's聽legacy with humility.

The soft-spoken聽Kennedy聽told the Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday that if confirmed, she would work to strengthen the crucial bond between the United States and its Asian ally on trade, the military and student exchanges.

Japan is the U.S.'s fourth-largest trading partner and is home to the Navy's 7th Fleet and 50,000 American troops.

With her husband, Edwin Schlossberg, son, Jack, and daughter Tatiana seated nearby,聽Kennedy聽said she understood her responsibility to uphold the ideals of her father 鈥� "a deep commitment to public service, a more just America and a more peaceful world."

Her father served in the Pacific during World War II, battling Japanese forces. The daughter, seeking the diplomatic post for a fierce enemy-turned-friend, said that if confirmed, "I would be humbled to carry forward his legacy in a small way and represent the powerful bonds that unite our two democratic societies."

She noted the significance of her nomination 50 years since her father's presidency, focusing on his tenure rather than on his assassination on Nov. 22, 1963.

Kennedy聽faced gentle questioning from Republicans and Democrats on the committee, signaling that she faced no obstacles to confirmation. Several senators said she would make a "great" ambassador.

Kennedy聽said that her father had wanted to be the first sitting president to make a state visit to Japan, especially since he was a World War II veteran.聽Kennedy聽said she visited Japan in 1978 with her uncle, then Sen. Ted聽Kennedy, and was moved by a visit to Hiroshima. Attending the hearing was Vicki聽Kennedy, the senator's widow.

"This is indeed an important moment in the history of U.S.-Japan relations," she said. "Japan is enjoying a period of political stability and economic renewal and is eager to increase trade and investment with the United States."

President Barack Obama chose聽Kennedy, 55, an attorney and best-selling book editor, for the diplomatic job. If confirmed, she would be the first woman in a post from which many other prominent Americans have served to strengthen a vital Asian tie, including the late Sen. Mike Mansfield, former Sens. Walter Mondale and Howard Baker and former Rep. Tom Foley.

"You have a good sense of what national interests are," said Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the senior Republican on the panel.

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia noted the unusual symmetry: President聽Kennedy聽was honored for his military service fighting Japan; decades later, his daughter would be the top diplomat in Japan. Kaine said it was reminder that hostilities and foes need not be permanent.

Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming pressed聽Kennedy聽on whether she would work to end the Japanese tariff on soda ash, or sodium carbonate, a critical deposit in Wyoming. Barrasso said it was the Wyoming Democratic delegation that put candidate John聽Kennedy聽over the top at the 1960 convention and mentioned that 13,000 turned out in Laramie for a speech by the president in 1963.

"I wouldn't be sitting here if it weren't for the state of Wyoming,"聽Kennedy聽told the senator in promising to look into the tax issue.

New York's two senators, Democrats Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, introduced聽Kennedy聽to the committee. Schumer noted that聽Kennedy聽and her daughter Tatiana made a three-mile swim in the Hudson River last weekend for charity to fight leukemia, swimming from Nyack to Sleepy Hollow.

Caroline聽Kennedy聽helped propel Obama to the Democratic presidential nomination with her endorsement over Hillary Rodham Clinton 鈥� the only time she's endorsed a presidential candidate other than her uncle Ted in 1980.

If confirmed,聽Kennedy聽would replace John Roos, a wealthy former Silicon Valley lawyer and top Obama campaign fundraiser.

Kennedy's聽confirmation to the post by the Senate would bring a third generation of her family into the U.S. diplomatic corps. Her grandfather Joseph P.聽Kennedy聽Sr. was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's ambassador to Britain, while her aunt Jean聽Kennedy聽Smith was ambassador to Ireland under President Bill Clinton.

Caroline聽Kennedy聽was five days shy of her sixth birthday when her father was killed, and she lived most of the rest of her life in New York City. She earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University, got a law degree from Columbia University, married exhibit designer Schlossberg and had three children.

Kennedy聽is president of the John F.聽Kennedy聽Library Foundation and chairs the senior advisory committee of the Institute of Politics at Harvard. She has served on the boards of numerous nonprofit organizations, helped raise millions of dollars for New York schools and edited numerous bestselling books on history, law and poetry.

She considered running for political office after Clinton resigned the New York Senate seat to serve as Obama's secretary of state. But聽Kennedy聽eventually withdrew herself from consideration to fill the seat, once held by her uncle Robert F.聽Kennedy, citing unspecified personal reasons.

Gillibrand was appointed to the Senate seat.