Trump names Kenneth Weinstein as ambassador to Japan

(Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday nominated Kenneth Weinstein, the president and CEO of the conservative think tank Hudson Institute, as the U.S. ambassador to Japan. Weinstein, a fluent speaker of French and German, also serves on the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations, which advises the U.S. Trade Representative, the White House said in a statement. Weinstein’s nomination still requires confirmation of the Senate. The position of the U.S. ambassador to Japan has been vacant since July, when then Ambassador William Hagerty resigned from his post to run for Tennessee’s open U.S. Senate seat.