Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki said Monday that he will pay a two-day visit to Okinawa beginning Friday for the first time since he was appointed to his post early this month.
Aoki, who concurrently serves as director general of the Okinawa Development Agency, plans to meet with Gov. Keiichi Inamine during his visit to discuss such issues as the pending relocation of Futenma Air Station in central Okinawa.
Last Friday, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly adopted a resolution calling for prompt implementation of the 1996 Japan-U.S. agreement to relocate the base's functions to a new facility within the prefecture. It calls on the national government to find new uses for the Futenma base site after it is vacated and provide the area with incentives for economic development.
Aoki will also hold talks with representatives of local business groups and visit planned venues for the Group of Eight summit next July, he said.
Foreign Minister Yohei Kono and former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka will accompany Aoki on the first day of the visit, Aoki said.