JAPAN HOPES FOR QUICK FREE TRADE DEAL WITH EU

Brussels. October 5 (AFP) – Japan hopes to follow in South Korea's footsteps by rapidly striking a free trade deal with the EU, a senior Japanese official said on Tuesday.

"Japan wants a deal as soon as possible," Japanese press secretary Satoru Sato said at a news conference held during a two-day Asia-Europe Meeting gathering 46 nations from both regions.

The issue was raised at a meeting late on Monday between Japanese Premier Naoto Kan and the head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, held on the sidelines of a two-day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) gathering 46 nations from both regions.

With the volume of mutual trade on the decline, Tokyo hoped to kick off negotiations at its next summit with the 27-member EU, scheduled for April or May, "but timing is not yet agreed", he said.

"The European side still needs to address concerns among member states and industry," he added.

At an EU-South Korea summit on Wednesday, taking place on the heels of the ASEM summit, Brussels is to sign a free trade pact with Seoul dubbed its "most ambitious agreement ever".

It was given a green light by European Union leaders last month after Italy dropped its objections over fears for its vital car industry.

Tokyo, which competes with Seoul in a number of areas including auto production, is seeking similar preferential access to the giant European market, home to half a billion people.

Sato told a small group of journalists on Monday that "the European side is still having difficulty in building up a consensus."

"European markets retain a high level of tariffs", he said, including 10 percent on automobiles and 14 percent on liquid crystal display TVs.

Efforts to forge a closer economic partnership between Brussels and Tokyo tip-toed forward last year but tripped up on European auto-industry fears as well as differences over drugs, medical devices and government procurement deals in Japan.

South Korea secured a deal with the EU thanks to its dogged determination to find new markets following the financial crisis of the late 1990s, the official said.

"Now Japan is following South Korea," Satoh said. But with Korean production only a quarter or a fifth of Japan's "it is less threatening".

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