AMBASSADOR KENNEDY: Thank you all for coming to meet us today. Hajimemashite. My husband Ed and I are thrilled to be in Japan and looking forward to having our children join us in a few weeks.

I bring greetings from President Obama. He is a great admirer of Japan, and I am honored to represent him as the United States Ambassador.

I am also proud to carry forward my father’s legacy of public service. He had hoped to be the first United States President to visit Japan. So it is a special honor for me to be able to work to strengthen the close ties between our two great countries.

Japan and the United States share a commitment to freedom, democracy and the rule of law - and we work together on important global humanitarian efforts and civil society initiatives. Our Alliance is critical to a prosperous and peaceful world.

I am excited to see your beautiful country, to learn everything I can, to make lots of new friends, and to go back to America and tell everyone to come and visit!

Arigatoo gozaimasu.