Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga leaves for US

May 9, 2019

Narita, Chiba Pref., May 9 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga left Narita International Airport near Tokyo on Thursday aboard a commercial plane to visit the United States for talks with Vice President Mike Pence and other senior officials.

Suga aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Japan and the United States over North Korea, including the issue of its abductions of Japanese nationals.

He also plans to reaffirm bilateral cooperation in reducing the burden of the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa in hosting most of the U.S. military bases in Japan, sources familiar with the situation said.

During the visit, Suga will also meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan in Washington.

Additionally, Suga will attend a symposium on the abduction issue to be held at the U.N. headquarters in New York to seek cooperation for the early resolution of the issue.

He will return home on Sunday. Jiji Press