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Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's insistence on revisiting a 2006 bilateral agreement calling for the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Air Station Futenma on Okinawa to a less populated site on the island to the north, is straining Japan-U.S. relations. More than 100 days after becoming prime minister, Hatoyama has yet to decide whether to honor the accord.

There are four major problems with the Hatoyama administration's pursuit of its policies toward the U.S.: (1) Hatoyama's lack of understanding of America and Americans, the result of which has led to mismanagement of the alliance relationship and damaged Americans' self-esteem, (2) failure by Hatoyama and his colleagues to build personal ties with the right people in Washington, (3) the Hatoyama...