Japan and the United States agreed Monday to accelerate talks on the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa ahead of President Barack Obama's visit to Japan next month.
Visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell told reporters he gave Akihisa Nagashima, Japan's parliamentary defense secretary, an explanation about the current transfer plan for the air station in downtown Ginowan to the coastal region of Camp Schwab in a less densely populated area in Nago.
"We tried to answer every question and we agreed that this process will continue," Campbell said. "We hope to have real progress over the course of the next several weeks in preparation for President Obama's visit here to Japan in early November."