OSAKA — In the end, the only thing Friday's agreement between the United States and Japan on relocating the Futenma air base does is to yet again avoid fundamental questions and problems that both sides have long ignored in favor of a face-saving political agreement for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
That's the opinion of U.S. government officials involved with Japan, who, citing U.S. policy, agreed to speak off the record on the negotiations. While some were more optimistic than others about the next steps, there was a general sense that Friday's agreement represents no tangible progress and, in fact, makes finding a solution acceptable to Tokyo, Washington and Okinawa all the more difficult.
U.S. negotiators watched with frustration and disbelief these past six months as potential relocation sites for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, located in Ginowan, Okinawa, were tossed out by national and local political leaders.