Will Okinawa's Voice Be Heard in Washington?

There are some very high powered US-Japan events taking place this next week in Washington, the most prominent of which is titled "150 Years of Amity and 50 Years of Alliance: Adopting an Enhanced Agenda for US-Japan Partnership" co-sponsored by the Center for a New American Security, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, and the Ocean Policy Research Foundation.

The assembled great and good of US-Japan relations will be spending a lot of time talking about Futenma US Marine Air Corps Station, which may have brought down Japan's Obamaesque Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. Most of the voices will state that Hatoyama and his No. 2, Ichiro Ozawa, were flawed leaders and that the US and Japan have an opportunity to push reset with Naoto Kan and the new leadership of the Democratic Party of Japan.

More...