Kishida pledges to support Okinawa to attract more foreign tourists

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida vowed Sunday to support efforts to attract more foreign tourists to Okinawa Prefecture in a meeting with Gov. Takeshi Onaga.

"Okinawa can be a model" for other local governments trying to invite foreign tourists and investment to boost local economic growth, Kishida said.

The southern island prefecture is one of the most popular tourist spots in Japan with a number of beach resorts. Japan aims to attract 40 million tourists in 2020, when it hosts the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The goal will be sharply up from 24.04 million in 2016.

The meeting comes as the central government is moving ahead with a plan to construct a U.S. Marine Corps air base in a coastal area in Okinawa amid strong local opposition. The prefecture hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan.

The governor reiterated his prefecture's opposition to the relocation plan, saying that "it is extremely regrettable" that the government sticks to it.

Kishida also explained a pact signed last month between Japan and the United States to effectively remove legal protection over some U.S. military base workers, a move that could help deter base-linked crimes in Okinawa.

Onaga said the central government has not worked hard enough to achieve its goal of halting operations of the base as planned in February 2019 and demanded more efforts to reduce the burden shouldered by local residents.