Tokyo Defense Kabuki

When the U.S. and Japan announced a sweeping military alliance realignment plan in 2006, both governments characterized their relationship as "the indispensable foundation of Japan's security and of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region." Yesterday, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama paid lip service to the alliance and then told parliament he wants to "frankly discuss" the implementation of a crucial part of that pact, the relocation of a U.S. air base on Okinawa.

This isn't a minor tiff. Mr. Hatoyama's grandstanding endangers the entire 2006 agreement, a complex document that took more than a decade to hash out. The U.S. agreed to close the Futenma base and move it to a coastal area of the island. Washington also agreed to move some 8,000 Marines and their families to Guam by 2014, plus consolidate other facilities and forces in Japan and return land to locals. Without the Futenma link, the other moves are thrown, well, off base.

Military leaders seem to understand how these pieces fit together. Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said Wednesday that the Futenma move is "extremely important." The same day, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates called it the "linchpin" of the 2006 pact. U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Michael Mullen told reporters in Tokyo Friday that stalling the realignment "diminishes the security support for Japan in the region."

There are signs of dissent within Mr. Hatoyama's cabinet, too. Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Friday that moving Futenma off the island entirely, as some pols are suggesting, is "not an option." Locals in Okinawa aren't united in opposition to the base, either, as many enjoy the economic benefits it provides.

Mr. Hatoyama may feel that he's simply sticking to a campaign pledge to put more distance between Japan and the U.S. But it doesn't sound like he's thought much about the alternatives. Will Japan spend more on its own defense? Does Mr. Hatoyama think the North Korean nuclear program and growing Chinese military force aren't serious enough to warrant a closer U.S.-Japan relationship? Does he think diplomacy alone can keep Japan safe? These are the questions Japan's new prime minister needs to be asking, rather than putting on a kabuki show on defense.