A key strategic panel of the transport ministry will recommend that Tokyo's Haneda airport be turned into a 24-hour hub for business purposes by allocating 90,000 slots a year to international flights, members said.
Passenger terminals for international flights should be expanded at Haneda, which mainly handles domestic flights, to turn the airport into an international hub, the panel will say in a set of recommendations to be submitted to transport minister Seiji Maehara in late May, they said.
The panel is tasked with recommending measures to enhance Japan's international competitiveness in aviation, urban living and other fields.
It will also propose that the struggling Kansai International Airport near Osaka attract cargo flights and foreign low-cost carriers to improve its performance as a core hub of the Kansai region.
To improve the competitiveness of cities in Japan, the panel will call for the creation of special zones to attract foreign businesses through deregulation and tax breaks.