Japan and the European Union are unlikely to agree on the possible launch of a joint study of a free-trade agreement when leaders meet in Tokyo on Wednesday, sources said.
The two sides appear unable to see eye to eye as a proposal by Tokyo for future intergovernmental talks at the joint study has been dismissed as premature by the 27-nation European Union, with the EU side demanding Japan first do more to reduce nontariff barriers, the sources said Tuesday.
Japan and the EU will hold their annual summit this week, during which the government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and the group of EU leaders, including European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, will discuss a wide range of issues.