Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to meet with Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki on Wednesday to discuss a controversial plan to relocate a key U.S. military base within the prefecture's main island, the top government spokesman said Tuesday.
The meeting will take place before the deadline on Friday for the Okinawa government to file a complaint with a government committee tasked with resolving conflicts between the central and local governments.
The central and Okinawa governments have sought to find common ground in an intensive dialogue set up earlier this month over the planned transfer of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within Okinawa, but so far failed to do so.