OK,I was wrong! It took me 4 minutes instead of 2 to clear up the problem, and this person now has aisle seats, in the Elite Section up front, on all 4 flights for this trip.

I asked a few questions of the Agent at Elite Services, and she confirmed what was mentioned above. This booking was part of a Travel Agency "Group Booking" at a special low fare. The way the reservation is booked, as a "Group" of ONE, does not allow the computer to recognize Elite Standing even when the WP Number is entered. The system must be manually overriden, and in this case she made a quick call to the "Seat Desk" and then all was well. I asked why this could not have been by NW in Tokyo for an Elite Member, and she said they "won't take the time to make the extra phone call" to get it done. I don't know if this really means "can't" or "are not allowed to" or what. But anyway, the situation is now resolved for this FT'er.