Tomohiro Ohsumi / AP Photo
President Obama's tour of Asia has begun, with Air Force One touching down in Tokyo Friday. The president hopes to improve relations with Japan, which has drifted away from America in recent years on a variety of issues, including logistical support for the Afghanistan war. At a press conference Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said that while Japan will no longer refuel ships that supply Afghanistan, it will offer aid for rebuilding civilian infrastructure, while Obama announced that his decision on the Afghanistan troop surge will come soon. The two countries focused on, as Obama put it, finding "ways to renew and refresh the alliance for the 21st century." Hatoyama promised to cooperate with the U.S. on climate change and nuclear proliferation. Both countries agreed that Iran and North Korea must uphold their nuclear commitments, and urged North Korea to return to six-party talks. However, the stickiest wicket in Japanese-American relations, the relocation of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Okinawa, an issue that Hatoyama campaigned upon, has been mentioned by both leaders, but not yet resolved.