The problem is that the U.S. side cannot choose flight times and slots as they are assigned one-sidedly by the Japanese government.

Yeah. Countries tend to want to have the final say over how many international flights are entering their airspace and WHEN they are entering the airspace. The U.S. does the same thing. Every other country does the same thing. Kurt is complaining about a "problem" with one country that is actually international policy.

There are currently no flights from US cities to Haneda because Narita was built for international flights. The fact that Haneda is opening up to other Asian countries is more a matter of regional convenience. Although, that said, I can still fly to and from Haneda to Vancouver, so any Americans who want to drop in a little closer to Tokyo can always fly up from Seattle to YVR and take off from there. But, when push comes to shove, who really cares?