Between Japan and a US gateway airport, there's space to be found. It's not too difficult. Sometimes, like right now, the NRT-SEA flight on JL is showing limited availability. So if you're trying to get from Japan to SEA, it can be a bit challenging.

This is the issue I'm currently seeing. We're looking for return flights mid-April 2024. Connecting AS flights in the right fare class from LAX, SFO, ORD, and DFW to SEA are non-existent. We're adjusting our plans and budget to accommodate. I'll book the flights Japan-US, then wait for AS space to become available. This is nothing new, and something I've harped on for quite some time. In my experience, AS limits award flights to/from the major partner international gateways.