Japan has yet to agree to launch free trade talks with Australia, a senior Japanese government official said on Thursday, denying a media report this week that the two governments had reached a broad agreement.
The positions of the two countries remain at odds over farm trade liberalisation, Japan's Vice Agriculture Minister Yoshio Kobayashi said. "There are sensitive issues in the farm sector," he told reporters on Thursday, adding that the two governments would continue discussions over the issues.
Japan's Agriculture Ministry, eager to protect domestic farming from foreign competition, rejects calls to abolish import tariffs on politically sensitive items in free trade talks, while Australia is reluctant to accept the tariffs. Japan's sensitive products include rice, wheat, beef, sugar and dairy products - major farm exports from Australia to Japan.
Australia has said a free trade deal with Japan - its top export market for almost 40 years - would be worth about US $30 billion to the Australian economy over 20 years, and would benefit Japan's economy by $21 billion over the same period.