Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada gave mixed signals Thursday on how far he will push Washington on the thorny issues of base relocation and Japan's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
Speaking a day after taking his post, the new foreign minister said he will seek to build strong ties with his U.S. counterparts and assert Japan's interests.
But while insisting the Democratic Party of Japan will try to move U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma outside of Okinawa Prefecture, Okada said that negotiations cannot proceed without first talking with the other party.