Meanwhile in my movie about Japan-U.S. relations

As I said in a previous post, too bad we don't have Japan over a foreign-aid barrel. What we do have is some pretty ugly history for them to think about. If you didn't read my scenario, it's here.

And here's a little stuff we might have forgotten that Al Jazeera reminds us about in an article today:

Hoping to improve the situation, Rumsfeld flew to Okinawa on Sunday to meet local community leaders and see first-hand a military presence that Washington is under pressure to reduce its commitments worldwide.

Over two-thirds of the estimated 47,000 US troops in Japan are based in Okinawa, including more than 17,000 marines poised to reinforce US forces in South Korea.

But the US presence in Okinawa has aroused bitter opposition on the island since the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl by three marines.

An agreement to lighten the US presence and begin returning land to Okinawans was launched after the rape to ease tensions, but US officials concede the process has lost momentum.

If we play our cards right, maybe Japan will offer us our own troops for Iraq deployment.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.