Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano will depart Friday for a three-day visit to Okinawa to inspect the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and its proposed relocation site as Tokyo mulls the thorny issue.
Hirano's visit will come after trips by several other ministers involved with the relocation issue, including Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, over the past few months.
"I want to go to the base to see the airfield," Hirano said Tuesday, adding he intends to reflect his findings from the trip in the ongoing discussions within the government.