Japan and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will hold their highest-level talks ever in Myanmar next week to discuss Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's recent proposal to forge a "comprehensive economic partnership."
But the talks are expected to expose sharp differences between Japan and ASEAN over the details of the proposal, especially over whether a possible free-trade agreement, envisioned as a main pillar of the new partnership, should include agricultural products, a politically sensitive sector for Japan.
ASEAN wants to include agricultural products in any FTA with Japan, while Japan remains reluctant to do so in the face of strong pressure from domestic farm lobbies and their supporters within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.