Okada to visit U.S., talks with Clinton expected Nov. 6: sources+

TOKYO, Nov. 1 Kyodo -
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada is expected to visit the United States for talks
with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton possibly on Nov. 6, although
last-minute arrangements for their meeting are still taking place, Japanese
government sources said Sunday.
The State Department said Saturday in Washington that Clinton would meet with
Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada in Washington on Nov. 6, but retracted
the announcement shortly afterward. The sources indicated that the schedule of
Diet sessions in Japan is a key factor that has prevented both governments from
finalizing details of Okada's itinerary.
Okada has been eager to meet with Clinton ahead of U.S. President Barack
Obama's trip to Tokyo to discuss the increasingly divided issue of where a U.S.
military airfield in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture should be relocated.
The United States has made it clear that Japan should come to a decision in
time for Obama's trip to Tokyo on Nov. 12 to 13 -- and in line with an existing
bilateral deal that would transfer the U.S. Marines Corps' Futemma Air Station
within Okinawa.
But Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has repeated Tokyo's stance of
taking time to consider the matter, saying he does not believe Japan has to
reach a decision by the time he meets with Obama.
Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan, which came to power in September after a
sweeping election victory, has promoted the idea of moving the Futemma airfield
out of Okinawa or even out of Japan.
Differences among Japanese Cabinet members are compounding the issue further,
with Okada defying the existing deal and floating the idea of transferring the
air base to the nearby U.S. Kadena Air Base.
As part of a 2006 bilateral accord on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan,
which took years to reach, the Futemma base is to be relocated from downtown
Ginowan to Nago by 2014.
Obama is scheduled to travel to Japan for talks with Hatoyama. Obama's first
visit to Japan since assuming office in January is part of his swing through
Asia, which will also take him to Singapore, China and South Korea.
==Kyodo