U.S. President Donald Trump intends to nominate Kenneth Weinstein, chief executive officer of the Hudson Institute think tank, as ambassador to Japan, the White House said on Friday.

Weinstein is chairman of the board of governors of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which includes the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and other broadcasters.

The U.S. ambassador's post in Tokyo has been vacant since William Hagerty stepped down in July after two years in office.

(Cover: Kenneth Weinstein, chief executive officer of the Hudson Institute think tank speaks at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC, July 24, 2018. /AFP)