Japan urged China on Friday to crack down on piracy of video games, CDs and movies.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a report that China has failed to live up to its obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization, although it was admitted to the body in December 2001.

The "2003 Report on the WTO Consistency of Trade Policies by Major Trade Partners" features a number of criticisms of China over what Japan describes as inappropriate trade practices under WTO rules.

It calls on China to carry out fundamental improvements in the field of enforcement of laws and regulations to clamp down on piracy of products that involve intellectual property rights.

The report also claims safeguard measures China has imposed on Japanese steel products are inconsistent with WTO rules.

The problem of intellectual property rights infringement is serious and common in Asia, the report says, singling out China, Taiwan and South Korea as "the three largest offenders."

It says the countries have failed to stop such infringements, although they are now introducing legal systems to protect intellectual property rights.

Japan also needs to continue to monitor developments in the area, the report states.

It says China imposed a specific tariff on photographic film rolls that is far above the rate it had initially set.

It also calls on China to raise import quotas for automobiles and auto parts, saying actual imports from last April to December were only $3.12 billion, while the import quota for 2002 was $7.94 billion.

The report also expresses concern over safeguard measures on steel taken by the United States, the European Union and China.

Japan claims in the report that the U.S. safeguard measures "triggered widespread protectionism in trade in steel" that was strengthened by a similar step taken by the EU.

Japan is also concerned about China's safeguards, as they could give new momentum to protectionism, according to the report.

It says dumping by developing countries is on the rise, and 63 of 104 antidumping cases the WTO started to probe in the first half of last year involved developing economies.

Besides such assessments of Japan's trade partners, the report also touches on recent developments in the WTO's three-year round of trade talks launched in Doha in 2001, including an informal ministerial meeting in Tokyo between Feb. 14 and 16.

The report was approved in the morning at a meeting of a METI subcommittee on unfair trade policies and measures.