Japan, RP start 4th trade talks

Japan, RP start 4th trade talks

Natalie Obiko Pearson, Associated Press

Japan and the Philippines launched a fourth round of talks toward signing a free trade agreement on Monday in Tokyo's latest efforts to reduce economic barriers with its Asian neighbors.

Japan has been stepping up its campaign to liberalize trade in the region, agreeing on dates to begin FTA talks with the 10- member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, over the weekend.

In Tokyo on Monday, Japanese and Filipino negotiators began three days of talks on potential goods, services and investments that could fall under the pact, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Tokyo wants Manila to open its markets to investment from Japanese businesses, while the Philippines is seeking to have Filipino nurses and other health care workers permitted to work in Japan.

Japan, one of the world's fastest aging societies, is already facing a shortage of nurses and other medical personnel, particularly in rural areas.

But Tokyo, conscious of public concerns that such workers could put Japanese out of jobs, is expected to demand certain conditions be met, such as ensuring that Filipino workers can communicate in Japanese and meet local qualification standards, public broadcaster NHK reported.

The talks are scheduled to last through Wednesday, when officials are expected to announce any progress.

Tokyo's free-trade ambitions gained new urgency after China - increasingly seen as a powerful economic rival - and ASEAN agreed two years ago to remove all trade barriers by 2010.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has made signing pacts a top priority, and the government has been pursuing negotiations with South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, and is in preliminary discussions with Indonesia.

On Saturday, ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong said in Jakarta that negotiations with Japan would begin in April and were slated to conclude in two years with implementation still to be decided.

ASEAN's 500 million people - about 17 percent of the world's population - make it an attractive market for Japan, which is already the bloc's second-biggest trading partner with more than US$108 billion in total trade in 2003.

At present, Japan has two free trade pacts, with Singapore and Mexico.

If the Philippines signs a deal with Japan, it will be Manila's first. Japan exported 1.04 trillion yen ($9.47 billion) worth of products, chiefly machinery and electronics parts, to the Philippines in 2003.

Philippines' exports to Japan totaled 815.5 billion yen, led by bananas, mangoes and other fruits and farm products, according to Japanese government figures.