U.S., Japan: Managing the Alliance

Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Nov. 8 that U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will not talk about the possible transfer of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to a less-populated location on Okinawa. The U.S. military presence has been a contentious issue for the newly elected Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ); yet while the DPJ wants some reassessments and readjustments, it does not intend to undermine the fundamentals of the security alliance with the United States.