Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said he plans to hold talks Sunday with Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga in a bid to defuse tensions between the central and local governments over the planned relocation of a U.S. air base within the island prefecture.
It will be the first meeting between Suga, who doubles as minister in charge of reducing the burden on Okinawa from hosting the bulk of U.S. forces in Japan, and Onaga since the latter became governor in December.
The move comes as the central and Okinawa governments are at odds over the planned relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, located in the residential neighborhood of Ginowan, to the less populated Henoko coastal area in Nago, both in Okinawa.