Charles Jenkins, his wife Hitomi Soga and their North Korea-born daughters rushed to pack up and make other preparations Saturday on the eve of their closely watched trip to Japan.
But uncertainty remained over how Japan and the United States would deal with Jenkins, 64, who was due to travel to Japan on Sunday for medical treatment.
Washington is maintaining its policy of seeking his handover as an accused U.S. Army deserter but is expected to hold off on doing so as long as he remains hospitalized to address what it calls a "humanitarian situation."
In Tokyo, U.S. Ambassador Howard Baker said he told Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi in a meeting earlier Saturday that Washington "is sympathetic to his health condition and that Sgt. Jenkins's medical condition may delay our request for his transfer to U.S. custody."