Caroline Kennedy appointed ambassador to Japan: Washington Post

Another report that Caroline Kennedy is being appointed U.S. ambassador to Japan may be enough to end previous speculation that Kennedy could have been the next ambassador to Canada.

A report on a Washington Post blog published on April 1 says Kennedy got the Japan post after her support for President Barack Obama during his 2008 campaign. It also noted that Kennedy’s office had yet to return calls to comment on the posting.

This latest Washington Post report follows one from Bloomberg in late February that also suggested Kennedy would be headed to Japan.

News of Kennedy going to Japan comes after speculative reports in the National Post, on Fox News and in Maclean’s that said Kennedy could be next in line to replace outgoing ambassador David Jacobson in Canada.

The speculation about Kennedy coming to Canada began with a Canadian Press report, in which Washington reporter Lee-Anne Goodman quoted Chris Sands, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, saying that Kennedy would be a good pick for the post.

Other names floated in late February as potential replacements for Jacobson included U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, former Republican senator Olympia Snowe, former Washington governor Christine Gregoire and former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm.