Caroline Kennedy will likely be appointed as the U.S. ambassador to Japan, the largest trading partner with the United States, according to reports on Monday.
CNN cited a diplomat familiar with the discussions in reporting that Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, was vetted for the post.
A source also told ABC News that she would be named for the position.
Her nomination has not yet been announced and if the report is confirmed, her appointment to the position would have to be approved by the U.S. Senate.
Emily Heil of the Washington Post blog In the Loop wrote that her appointment “is almost certain to thrill the Japanese, who like their American ambassadors to be superstars.”
“Kennedy’s predecessors include luminaries like legendary Senate majority leader Mike Mansfield, former vice president Walter Mondale, former House speaker Tom Foley, and former Senate majority leader Howard Baker,” Heil added.
Kennedy, 55, who graduated from Harvard and Columbia universities, is the only surviving member of President Kennedy’s family but has remained mostly out of politics. However, in 2008, she emerged as a top backer of President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
She also backed Obama in 2012, giving a speech in September at the Democratic National Convention.
She is married to Edwin Schlossberg, who owns a New York design company, and the couple has three children.
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