Jul 27 12:58 AM US/Eastern
TOKYO, July 27 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Tuesday met with key ministers on the issue of relocating a U.S. military base within Okinawa Prefecture, the first such meeting since he took office in June.
The discussion with ministers including Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa comes as sources say the government will delay finalizing details of the relocation plan in consideration of strong protests in Okinawa against keeping the base.
Japan and the United States agreed in May to move the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station within the island prefecture while deciding to work out technical details of the relocation plan, such as the location and construction method of an alternative facility, at a panel of experts by the end of August.
"As I've been saying, this Cabinet will sincerely fulfill the promises under the accord," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku said at a news conference, when asked about the likelihood of hammering out the details on time.
But government sources said earlier that a concrete plan for the relocation may not be produced until after the Okinawa gubernatorial election scheduled for November.
Sengoku, who also attended the meeting, said Kan did not give them specific instructions on what the Cabinet has to do over the issue of relocating the airbase on Tuesday.
Sengoku, however, said he and Kan have agreed that they will explore new ways of dealing with the issue in the hope of enhancing information-sharing among the key ministers.
Sengoku, the government's top spokesman, also said the Cabinet Secretariat and himself will play a key role in making arrangements with authorities in Okinawa over the issue.
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