The Ministry of International Trade and Industry on Apr. 1 denounced the U.S. government's trade report for containing what it called a series of one-sided views, erroneous accounts and unfounded allegations.
The U.S. claim that the Japanese government's counter-liberalization measures have been hampering foreign access to the Japanese photographic film market, for instance, contradicts the facts, the ministry said in its statement. The Japanese government has never implemented such measures and the Japanese photographic film market is open to foreign products, the statement says.
Japan's trade chief Shinji Sato also voiced displeasure during a news conference earlier in the day with the U.S. claim that close relations between Japanese bureaucrats and the private sector have been hampering foreign access to the Japanese market. "The U.S. calls anything and everything trade barriers but that's not how things are in reality," he said.