Gov't says Japan, U.S. to hold extra day of talks on open skies deal+

TOKYO, Dec. 11 Kyodo -
Transport minister Seiji Maehara said Friday that Japan and the United States
will hold an extra day of talks in Washington after failing to strike an
agreement on an ''open skies'' accord to liberalize their civil aviation
markets.

After four days of talks, Maehara said the two sides have not ironed out
details on the allocation of slots at Narita International Airport in Chiba
Prefecture near Tokyo and Haneda airport in the capital and added without any
elaboration that technical issues remained.
''We are not going to rush through this issue, but we will conclude it after
making our position clear in equal Japan-U.S. negotiations,'' Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Maehara said. ''It would be okay
to take some time.''
Uncertainty looms over whether the two countries can finish the negotiations by
the end of the year as earlier claimed. A delay could affect the direction of
heated capital tie-up talks between two U.S. carriers and struggling Japan
Airlines Corp.
An open skies pact would give air carriers more freedom to open routes and
select the number of flights between the two countries. It could lower
antitrust barriers for big airlines in Japan and the United States.
The latest round was the fifth of its kind since Tokyo and Washington entered
into negotiations in October last year.
Tokyo and Washington both see the merits of such an accord, with the United
States wanting to enhance its Asian routes by strengthening its alliance with
Japanese air carriers, and Japan aiming to boost the presence of its
international airports.
==Kyodo