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 The appointment of the daughter of President John F. Kennedy has
been popular among Japanese, and it was no different at a temporary
housing site in Minamisanriku, a city mostly destroyed by the
tsunami.
Kennedy sat down for tea with women still living in tiny temporary
housing units nearly three years after the disaster. Of 197 homes in
their district, only nine were left standing. A project started by
volunteers makes crocheted and knitted dish scrubbers shaped like
sea creatures for sale, and Kennedy asked to buy some to give as
Christmas gifts.
"Working on these things, we have to concentrate, or we drop
stitches. That helps us to forget what we've lost," said Akiko
Sugawara, 64, one of about a half dozen residents who spent much of
an hour chatting with Kennedy.
"Until I came here it was hard to really comprehend the extent of
your losses. I admire your courage and resilience," Kennedy said.
Earlier Monday, Kennedy visited a park in the port city of
Ishinomaki to see a wide vista of the tsunami-ravaged waterfront
before heading to an elementary school, where students performed
skits in English and sang "Happy Birthday" to Kennedy, who turns 56
on Wednesday.
Kennedy has so far stuck to carefully scripted events, mostly
avoiding interviews as she adapts to a more public role after living
a largely private life. Thousands of people turned out last week to
see her ride in a horse-drawn carriage to present her diplomatic
credentials to Emperor Akihito. The Japanese media have praised her
low-key style, which many see as appropriate for a working mother
who has had little to do with politics, let alone diplomacy,
throughout her career.
She could become the most influential U.S. ambassador to Japan since
Edwin Reischauer, who was President Kennedy's envoy 50 years ago,
said Nancy Snow, an American visiting professor at Keio University
in Tokyo.
"She is primarily a soft-power ambassador who will play to her
strengths in culture, education and shared values between the U.S.
and Japan," Snow said. "She will highlight her many roles that
resonate here: wife, mother, public service and humanitarian
advocate."
The visit to the disaster region fits with those priorities.
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Kennedy tried her hand at calligraphy and exchanged high-fives with
schoolchildren as she toured the northeastern region, about 340
kilometers (210 miles) north of Tokyo. She brushed in black ink the
Japanese character for the word "tomo," or friend. She then sat down
to read "Where the Wild Things Are," the classic children's tale by
American author Maurice Sendak, to a sixth-grade class.
Her visit was also a tribute to the U.S. "Tomodachi," or friendship,
program that provided initial rescue and relief and longer-term
support for survivors of the disaster. She presented 112 books to
the Mangokuura Elementary School, donated in memory of Taylor
Anderson, an American who died in the tsunami while teaching at the
school and others in Ishinomaki.
Rebuilding has barely begun. Makeshift stores, restaurants, car
washes and laundries have been set up in areas flattened by the
tsunami, which was triggered by a magnitude-9 earthquake. The
disaster left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing, and tens of
thousands of people remain in temporary prefabricated housing more
than 2 1/2 years later.
Her newfound celebrity in Japan aside, Kennedy is learning on the
job as a first-time diplomat, arriving at a time when the U.S. is
working hard to shore up its commitments in the region in line with
President Barack Obama's "pivot" toward Asia.
"She is highly regarded largely for her top-brand image, as we
hardly know her political skills," said Kyouji Yanagisawa, a former
national security official in the Prime Minister's Office.
Exchanging high-fives with schoolchildren and joking with the
Japanese ladies over whether her children do their dishwashing,
Kennedy struck a sympathetic, companionable tone in her first major
event with the Japanese public.
"If she can establish that natural and disarming style as her Tokyo
signature, then she will be very well received," Snow said.
[Associated
Press; ELAINE KURTENBACH]
Associated Press writer
Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
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