Caroline Kennedy will be the U.S. ambassador to Japan.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved her nomination on September 30, but final approval was delayed by the government shutdown.

Kennedy, 55, is the daughter of assassinated President John F. Kennedy Jr.

A lawyer and the president of the JFK Library Foundation, Kennedy received a unanimous voice vote Wednesday night in the Senate, where, hours before, legislation had been approved to bring the most recent fiasco to a close.

Given Japan’s standing in the world and its close relationship with the U.S., Kennedy’s appointment to the position is of even greater importance. Japan is the fourth largest trading partner with the U.S. and home to 50,000 American troops and the Navy’s 7th Fleet, the AP reports.

She will fill the shoes of John Roos who President Barack Obama chose to replace Tom Schieffer in May 2009. Roos was confirmed by the Senate in August 2009.

President Obama nominated Kennedy to the ambassadorship after she played a role in his re-election.

Having grown up in largely in the White House, she was only five when her father was assassinated on November 22,1963.

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