Japan to join talks on Pacific trade pact
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Friday that Japan will join talks on a Pacific trade pact that would oblige the coun-try to open up sheltered industries including farming, long a bastion of protectionism.
Japan and the European Union on Monday agreed to launch Free Trade Agreement talks in an effort to create a trading bloc covering about one-third of world' s gross domestic product, according to local media.