TOKYO, Feb. 7, Kyodo — Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida will visit Okinawa from Feb. 25 to take part in an anniversary ceremony, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
During his two-day visit to the southern island prefecture, Kishida is arranging to hold talks with Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga and an official from the U.S. military, government sources said.
The potential talks would come as the central government and the Okinawa prefectural government are at odds over the Japan-U.S. plan to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within Okinawa, with construction work proceeding amid strong local opposition.
The ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the ministry’s Okinawa Liaison Office will be held in Naha, capita of the prefecture, on Feb. 25.
Kishida is also set to participate in events to attract more tourists and investments to Okinawa, as a part of the ministry’s project to promote the attractiveness of regional areas in Japan to the world, the ministry said.
