Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga and Foreign Minister Taro Aso left Sunday for Washington where Japan and the United States hope to strike a final agreement on plans to realign American troops stationed in Japan.
Nukaga and Aso are scheduled to meet Monday with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Agency spokesman Kimihito Aguin said in Tokyo.
The two sides have been negotiating details of the realignment, including giving Japan's military greater responsibility for security in the Asia-Pacific region, since 2002.