Japan and Switzerland agreed Friday to launch free-trade agreement talks in a move that will create, if successful, Tokyo's first FTA with a European country.
The agreement was reached by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey during a telephone conversation Friday, a Japanese official said.
The two leaders did not mention when negotiations will start or the timetable for concluding the agreement, the official said.
A trade pact with Switzerland will largely benefit Japan because tariffs are applied to more than 70 percent of its exports to Switzerland.
The FTA initiative reflects Japan's recent rush efforts to strengthen trade ties in regions where it has lagged behind the United States and Europe.
Japan has concluded FTAs with Singapore, Mexico and Malaysia, and is negotiating with 11 countries and areas. Most of them are developing Asian nations.
More recently, Japan has started to negotiate a FTA with India this month while Tokyo agreed to launch similar talks with Australia last month.
Japan and Switzerland also agreed Friday to cooperate on measures to counteract pirated products as well as cooperation on investment rules.
In 2005, Japan's exports to Switzerland, including automobiles, stood at 237 billion yen.
Japan's imports from Switzerland, including pharmaceutical products and watches, totaled 557 billion yen with tariffs applied to about 20 percent of the items, according to Finance Ministry figures.