The new Japanese government is looking more and more like the prior Roh Moo-hyun administration in Korea:

Japan’s new government appeared to bow to intensifying pressure from visiting top U.S. military officials, saying Friday it supports keeping a major U.S. Marine airfield on the southern island of Okinawa.

The move narrows – but doesn’t close – a rift between the two alliance partners ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit in three weeks. The new Tokyo administration, elected in a landslide in August, is eager to assert a more independent stance with Washington – but doesn’t want to unduly strain ties with its chief ally and key trading partner.

The government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has suggested it would like to make changes to a 2006 agreement that would realign the 47,000 U.S. troops in Japan, including moving 8,000 Marines to the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

A major sticking point has been the future of Futenma airfield, which under the pact would be relocated to a less crowded part of Okinawa. However, Hatoyama has suggested he would like the airfield moved off the island entirely.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, visiting Tokyo earlier this week, insisted the Futenma – a busy Marine Corps air base – must be relocated on the island, calling any other options “politically untenable and operationally unworkable.”

Admiral Mike Mullen added to that pressure Friday during meetings with Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and other officials, urging them to quickly resolve the issue.

After his meeting with Mullen, Okada said moving Futenma airfield off the tiny island “is not an option” – although it would be difficult to resolve the location of the new site before Obama’s Nov. 12-13 visit.  [Stars & Stripes]

ROK Drop readers should remember how former Korean President Roh during his presidency did everything possible to distance himself from the US for political reasons.  Ultimately Roh approved of the USFK relocation plan and other deals, but did his best to make life difficult for USFK during his entire presidency to appease his leftist base.  The same thing appears to be happening in Japan.  USFJ will likely get their relocation plan moving, but for the next few years they can expect the current Japanese government to make life difficult for them to appease their leftist base as well.