Japan, S. Korea ink `open skies` agreement

TOKYO, Dec. 22 Kyodo -
Japan and South Korea have reached an ''open skies'' deregulation agreement for
civil aviation between Narita airport, east of Tokyo, and South Korea's Inchon
airport, the transport ministry said Wednesday.
The agreement will take effect in summer 2013, allowing Japanese and South
Korean airlines to freely open flight routes and decide the number of passenger
and cargo flights between the two airports, according to the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
The upper limit of annual air traffic at Narita airport will be raised to
270,000 in the summer of the year.
It is the first accord with other Asian economies under the Japanese government
policy of promoting open-skies arrangements as part of the nation's new growth
strategy.
Japan is set to conclude open-skies agreements with Singapore and Malaysia in
January and February, respectively.
==Kyodo