Jun 27 04:05 AM US/Eastern
TORONTO, June 27 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and U.S. President Barack Obama will likely reaffirm the importance of the bilateral alliance and discuss the relocation of a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa when they meet after the Group of 20 summit meeting Sunday.
Kan and Obama are also expected to agree that Japan and the United States will continue supporting South Korea in seeking tough action against North Korea over the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel in March, for which Pyongyang has been found responsible.
It will be the first formal meeting between Kan and Obama since the prime minister took office earlier this month following the abrupt resignation of former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
As for the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station, for which Hatoyama came under heavy criticism for breaking a promise, Kan has said he would honor the latest accord reached between Japan and the United States in late May.
The deal stipulates that the heliport functions of the Futenma facility located in a crowded residential area in Ginowan will be moved to a less densely populated coastal zone in Nago, another Okinawa city, roughly in line with the initial agreement struck in 2006.
Kan is facing a tough challenge in appeasing local opposition to the relocation plan, particularly after Hatoyama raised hopes for moving the Marine base out of the southern prefecture or even out of Japan.
The G-20 groups the Group of Seven major economies -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- plus key emerging economies, including Brazil, China, India and Russia.
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