The government still hopes to finalize plans to realign the U.S. military presence in Japan by the Friday deadline although it has yet to win consent from affected communities, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Monday.
In a last-ditch effort to finalize the entire plan, Japan and the United States will hold senior working-level talks in Washington on Thursday and Friday, the Foreign Ministry and Defense Agency said.
"We basically think that it is desirable to reach a conclusion during this month," Abe said.