Yet Nicholas Szechenyi of the Center for Strategic and International Studies says Washington's softer approach is not all soft.

VOA: standard.2009.11.10

"I think the No. 1 priority for a Hatoyama government is just going to be getting used to governing, " Szechenyi says.

NPR: Will Japanese Power Shift Change U.S. Relations?

"Some people in the DPJ have been suggesting that the U.S.-Japanese relationship won't change at all, and then you've got Hatoyama writing that op-ed, " Szechenyi says.

NPR: Will Japanese Power Shift Change U.S. Relations?