Japan and the United States plan to hold the inaugural meeting of a deputy ministerial-level economic forum in Washington early next month, government sources said.
The first meeting, which will probably be held Oct. 7, comes nearly three months after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush agreed to establish the forum as a cornerstone of the U.S.-Japan Economic Partnership for Growth.
Although the forum's first meeting was originally set for Sept. 15 in Tokyo, it was postponed due to the terrorist attacks in the United States earlier that week.