After his visit to Okinawa Prefecture last Tuesday, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama finds himself at an impasse over the issue of the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa. He must learn from mistakes made so far and strive to resolve this issue.
Maybe due to his lack of experience in security issues, he apparently thought the issue could be resolved easily. He repeatedly stated that he would like to move Futenma's functions outside Okinawa Prefecture, leaving people with high expectations that later became a political burden for him. He must learn the importance of behind-the-scenes consensus-building before any important announcement.
Probably because of his character, he habitually avoided making political statements that might seem unpleasant to the person he was speaking to. It is still unclear whether he firmly told U.S. President Barack Obama that to lighten the burden on Okinawans, he would like to pursue a change in the 2006 Japan-U.S. agreement on the Futenma relocation.