Osaka airports may be unified

An advisory group is set to propose an "administrative unification" of Japan's Kansai International, Osaka International and Kobe airports in an effort to streamline costs, Japan Times reported. The proposal will be presented at a Dec. 14 meeting of regional leaders. Currently, each of the airports has separate management groups.

The proposal came after the central government's task force set up to eliminate wasteful budget requests decided conditionally to freeze a ¥16 billion subsidy sought to assist the operations of Kansai International, the biggest of the three airports. A top government official has asked that local governments and organizations "review roles" of the three airports as a prerequisite for thawing the freeze.