The new administration Prime Minister Naoto Kan will form next week won't have much time to act when it comes to foreign affairs.
Japan's ties with the United States will hinge on his team's ability to follow through on the agreement recently hammered out by his predecessor, Yukio Hatoyama, to move U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma farther north in Okinawa.
Kan said he intended to honor the agreement when he announced his candidacy Thursday for the Democratic Party of Japan's presidency.