Tokyo shows reluctance to free-trade talks with New Zealand

NIIGATA, Japan, Oct. 17 (Kyodo) - Japan's farm minister Michihiko Kano expressed reluctance Sunday to an offer from his New Zealand counterpart for negotiations toward the signing of a
bilateral free trade agreement.
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Kano said New Zealand Agriculture
Minister David Carter made the proposal when they met earlier in the day on the
sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum's ministerial meeting
on food security in Niigata Prefecture.
''We have been saying it is difficult as Japan has structural issues and I said
please understand this,'' Kano told reporters after holding talks with Carter.
Japan has been reluctant to open up its agricultural market, while beef and
other farm products account for more than 70 percent of imports from New
Zealand on a monetary basis.
When asked about Japan's stance regarding whether to join the Trans-Pacific
Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement, Kano said he told Carter that
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said Japan will consider whether to join
the free trade accord.
The TPP agreement, originally concluded by Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and
Singapore, which took effect in 2006, requires in principle that members
eliminate all tariffs to zero.