Japan and Singapore entered their third round of negotiations Monday on a bilateral free-trade agreement with the hope of making it their last and putting the accord into force by next summer.
The Japanese negotiating team for the three-day talks is headed by Kazuo Asakai, ambassador in charge of global trade and economic affairs. The Singapore delegation is led by former Ambassador to Japan Lim Chin Beng.
If the two sides strike a deal, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong will sign the pact by yearend and wait for both parliaments to ratify it.
It would be the first free-trade agreement for Japan, which is the only major industrialized country that does not have such an arrangement with any of its economic partners.