Japan and the United States held working-level talks Tuesday to produce an accord on the planned realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, according to a Japanese government source.
The source did not provide details of the meeting. The Japanese and U.S. officials apparently discussed realignment proposals by both countries.
In Tokyo, three members of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet held their first meeting Wednesday to formulate Japan's stance on the issue.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and Yoshinori Ono, director general of the Defense Agency, talked for about an hour at the Prime Minister's Official Residence.