Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and visiting Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong agreed Sunday to formally launch negotiations on a bilateral free-trade agreement in January and conclude the negotiations by the end of 2001.
In talks held at the Prime Minister's Official Residence, the two leaders agreed that the talks would be based on a joint study compiled last month by a panel of experts that outlined key areas of the pact, a Foreign Ministry official said.
The new agreement with Singapore would mark a shift in Japan's trade policy, which has long focused on engaging in multilateral trade frameworks, such as the World Trade Organization.