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Donald Trump names Kenneth Weinstein as ambassador to Japan

Weinstein also serves on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, which counsels the US trade representative

Donald Trump names Kenneth Weinstein as ambassador to Japan

U.S. President Donald Trump. (File Photo: IANS)

US President Donald Trump on Friday nominated Kenneth Weinstein, the president and CEO of the conservative think tank Hudson Institute, as the US 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 US Trade Representative, the White House said in a statement.

Weinstein is chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Agency for Global Media, an independent government agency that operates Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting, the statement further added.

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Weinstein also serves on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, which counsels the US trade representative, the White House said.

Japan is fighting the coronavirus outbreak and Japan’s Olympics minister, Seiko Hashimoto, dismissed suggestions on Friday that the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics should be postponed.

On Wednesday, President Trump announced the US suspended all passenger travel from Europe, except the UK for the next 30 days to stop the spread of coronavirus pandemic that has claimed over 4,500 lives, including 37 in America, and sent global markets into a tailspin.

Trump said the European Union had “failed to take the same precautions” as his administration had implemented to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier this week, Japan cancelled several prayer meetings to mark the ninth anniversary of a powerful earthquake-triggered tsunami in wake of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

On Tuesday, Japan had 59 new cases of coronavirus infection and the total infections have risen to 1,278 cases, including 696 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

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