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How Caroline Kennedy Could Make a Difference in Japan

Shihoko Goto

When it comes to equality for women, Japan ranks 101st out of 135 countries. Shihoko Goto writes that as an ambassador, Caroline Kennedy could serve to change this as a high-profile voice for empowering women in both Japan and the United States.

A strong, politically savvy woman is just what Japan and the United States need to strengthen relations on both sides of the Pacific.

Caroline Kennedy, who is in line for the post of U.S. ambassador to Japan, may or may not exactly fit that bill. With any luck, though, she could leverage her appointment as Washington's top envoy to Tokyo to heighten awareness of just how seriously both sides need to take the issue of female leadership.

Not that there is a dearth of other pressing problems at stake.

North Korea's nuclear aspirations show no sign of abating, while worries about tensions in the East China Sea over a handful of barren rocks possibly triggering armed conflict between Japan and China persist. Meanwhile, an arms race is building up in the Asia-Pacific, and the United States needs to strengthen ties with solid allies such as Japan more than ever.

Read the rest of this op-ed on CNN.com.

About the Author

Shihoko Goto

Shihoko Goto

Director, Indo-Pacific Program

Shihoko Goto is the director the Indo-Pacific Program at the Wilson Center. Her research focuses on the economics and politics of Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, as well as US policy in Northeast Asia. A seasoned journalist and analyst, she has reported from Tokyo and Washington for Dow Jones and UPI on the global economy, international trade, and Asian markets. A columnist for The Diplomat magazine and contributing editor to The Globalist, she was previously a donor country relations officer for the World Bank and has been awarded fellowships from the East-West Center and the Knight Foundation, among others.

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Indo-Pacific Program

The Indo-Pacific Program promotes policy debate and intellectual discussions on US interests in the Asia-Pacific as well as political, economic, security, and social issues relating to the world’s most populous and economically dynamic region.   Read more

Global Women's Leadership Initiative

The Global Women’s Leadership Initiative has hosted the Women in Public Service Project at the Wilson Center since June, 2012. The Women in Public Service Project will accelerate global progress towards women’s equal participation in policy and political leadership to create more dynamic and inclusive institutions that leverage the full potential of the world’s population to change the way global solutions are forged.  Read more