JFK's daughter says his spirit lives on

Kennedy, who arrived in Tokyo nine days ago, also talked to Japan's largest newspaper about ongoing challenges in U.S.-Japan relations. “We hope that substantive progress is made in the near future” on a long-delayed plan to relocate a U.S. Marine Corps base from one part of Okinawa to another, said Kennedy, who is visiting the tsunami-hit region of northeast Japan on Monday and Tuesday.


Her father, whose torpedo boat was sunk by a Japanese destroyer in World War II, wanted to strengthen America's relations with its former enemy, she told the Yomiuri. Others have realized his vision in the past 50 years, she said. “It is an inspiring story of the power of individuals to change the world, and I am eager to be part of the next chapter.”

On nuclear weapons, she said her father considered the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to be his greatest accomplishment. “I am proud to serve another president who is committed to ridding the world of these terrible weapons while I am here in Japan.”