Japan is preparing to counter a recent U.S. government report in which Tokyo is accused of not opening up its markets sufficiently to imports, a senior official of the Fair Trade Commission said Wednesday.
The report, which was released in late March by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, urges Japan to open up its markets in 12 sectors.
These include rice, telecommunications, financial services, energy and information technology.
"I will not counter each issue as the Japanese government will issue a comprehensive rebuttal," Akio Yamada, secretary general of the FTC, said at a news conference.
The report constitutes nothing new as it includes many issues that were mentioned last year, Yamada said.
"We will deal with anticompetitive practices strictly" even without pressure from the United States, he added.