HONOLULU — Despite Tuesday's call by Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to further deepen the bilateral alliance, the disagreement over the relocation of the Futenma air base has strained relations, casting a cloud over possible future accomplishments.
Both the top Japanese and U.S. diplomats spoke highly of the bilateral alliance, saying it has underpinned Asia-Pacific security for the past 50 years.
The two nations formally agreed to launch talks to further the alliance, with the secretaries of state and of defense and their Japanese counterparts holding a meeting in the first half of this year for a midterm review in hopes of a final conclusion by November.