The European Union has asked Japan to open up its market for goods and services procurement in municipalities with a population of 100,000 or more as the two economic powers work toward signing a free trade agreement, EU documents and sources said Thursday.
While it remains unclear how many EU firms intend to enter the market, a Japanese government source said Tokyo cannot accept the EU's request since it means about a third of Japan's 790 municipalities would be subjected to the burden of changing their procurement procedures.
The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been expediting talks on the envisioned FTA, seeing such frameworks as necessary to achieving economic growth. Abe met with EU chiefs during his trip to Europe earlier this month and reaffirmed their intention to reach a broad agreement by the end of the year.