Monday, Feb. 6, 2012

WASHINGTON — Japan is set to propose a working-level forum for auto trade issues with the United States to speed up its efforts to join negotiations on a trans-Pacific trade framework, sources said Saturday.

Tokyo will make the overture at preliminary talks related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, a free-trade initiative led by Washington, on Tuesday, the sources said.

Japan and the U.S. don't have a specific forum for auto trade issues yet, and the United States is expected to view the proposal favorably.

Propelling the move is Japan's desire to join TPP talks as soon as possible by separating auto issues from the preliminary talks with the U.S., they said.

The U.S. auto industry is opposed to Japan's entry into the TPP negotiations, arguing that Japanese regulations have barred U.S. carmakers from penetrating into its market and that the bilateral trade imbalance will widen if Japan joins the tariff-cutting framework.

Although it dismisses such regulations as nonexistent, Tokyo is worried about the increasing pressure the politically powerful U.S. auto industry is putting on Congress to exclude Japan from the TPP.

The Japanese government declared its intention in November to join the TPP negotiations, but Tokyo must receive approval from the nine countries currently involved in the talks.

So far, Brunei, Chile, Peru and Vietnam have expressed support for Japan to formally take part, Japanese officials said.

Honda dealers go solar

Honda Motor Co. said Saturday it will install solar power panels at more than 100 of its dealerships nationwide to reduce its dependency on power generated by fossil fuels.

The automaker will use solar panels made by a subsidiary to set up the power systems, which will have a combined capacity of 1 megawatt by March 2014.

Some of Honda's domestic factories have already been fitted with solar power systems for a combined capacity of 3.3 MW, the most in the Japanese auto industry. In 2013, Honda will begin using a 2.6-MW system at a new plant in Saitama Prefecture that's now under construction.

By March 2014, the total power generation capacity of the solar systems used at Honda plants and dealerships across Japan will reach 6.9 MW, which is enough to power about 1,500 households.

Honda has more than 2,000 car dealerships in Japan.

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