Just days after Tokyo suggested a compromise that would split the operations of a military between two Japanese islands, Japanese foreign minister Katsuya Okada made a trip to Washington. Jeff Kingston, who teaches modern Japanese history at the Tokyo branch of Temple University, says the new proposals will not play well in Washington, and could fail. "They want to be able to lay this off on U.S. pressure," said Kingston.  "We did our best, we tried but ultimately we failed because the U.S. would not concede."