Kennedy “Worst Ambassador in Japanese History”

US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy’s efforts to improve US-Japanese relations by highlighting the evils of Japanese dolphin hunting already look to have made her the most unpopular ambassador in recent memory – and if her next threat “to discuss the comfort women issue” is carried out her place in history seems all but assured.

After the controversy her Taiji-bashing tweets provoked, her only response was to ignore it:

“These past few weeks, myself and the embassy have received lots of mail, tweets, and phone calls. I thought it was important to make US policy clear.”

She called the storm her comments created “healthy” – although seems to have been silent as to the accusations that her staff deleted all the English language criticism of her tweets whilst largely ignoring or being unable to identify the Japanese language complaints, and since then most of her tweets have been about the relatively safe topics of baseball and sumo

Meanwhile the governor of Wakayama prefecture has told her to keep her nose out:

“We take the lives of cows and pigs. Is it right to say we are only being cruel to dolphins?”

[…]

“Culinary cultures differ. It is civilised wisdom to respect these differences.”

Kennedy’s appointment is increasingly starting to look as much like a deliberate effort to sabotage relations between the US and Japan as an effort to palm off a washed-up Democratic princess on an appreciative vassal – as Kennedy has now announced she plans to invite the Korean ambassador to her residence “to discuss the comfort women issue.”

Her antics seem not have made her many friends in Japan – though curiously she has earned a great deal of positive publicity with them outside Japan:

“She is the worst ambassador in history… go home!”

“What the hell is this woman doing sticking her nose into all these issues?”

“You’d think the US ambassador had better things to do that make policy on something like that.”

“Policy via tweets…”

“She is just the pawn of US lobbyists rather than an actual diplomat.”

“Go back to the US you dolphin loving old hag!”

“This woman just hates Japan.”

“You have to ask who is paying her to make such a mess…”

“I choose to believe she is just an idiot.”

“She must have been planted to worsen relations between Japan and the US for the benefit of American relations with China.”

“I support her. All the anti-American sentiment she is stirring up is perfect.”

“This racist biddy is still picking on Japan whilst ignoring what Alaskans do to seals I see.”

“She is useless. What does she hope to achieve by driving the US and Japan apart?”

“Healthy debate indeed. She had all the criticism deleted.”

“Why is she even discussing US dolphin policy? This is Japan, and they are Japanese dolphins.”

“As expected of princess America. America now makes national policy about what goes on in a single little Japanese cove, does it?”

“All that submarine sonar driving whales to beach themselves is totally humane of course.”

“She’s the American Hatoyama!”

“From her attitude she obviously just regards Japan as an American colony.”