Obama Nominates Caroline Kennedy as Ambassador to Japan

Caroline Kennedy is finally getting a high-profile thank-you for all the help she has given President Obama over the years: He nominated her to be the next ambassador to Japan today, reports CNN. Assuming the Senate goes along, JFK's 55-year-old daughter will become the first woman to hold the post. (The Washington Post reported a few months ago that the move was expected.)

Given that the US is Japan's biggest economic partner and military ally, it's not exactly a token job, and USA Today finds a skeptic worried about Kennedy's lack of experience. "Japan is in real crisis right now," says the president of the Economic Strategic Institute. "We keep handicapping ourselves in our global diplomacy by putting people into positions who don't know anything about what they are doing." Still, she follows in the footsteps of her grandfather, Joseph, was served as ambassador to Britain. (More Caroline Kennedy stories.)