Japan and Sri Lanka have agreed to add Narita International Airport to their open skies agreement, according to the transport ministry.
The addition of Narita will take effect in summer 2013, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said Monday.
Signatory countries to open skies agreement are basically obliged to authorize each other's airlines to set the number of flights to the other's airports and open new routes to them without being bound by any curbs.
The deal has made Sri Lanka the 15th economy with which Japan has agreed to add Narita to such an accord.
JAL 787 inbound
One of two Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets delivered to Japan Airlines Co. took off for Japan from Everett, Washington, on Monday following a ceremony to mark the handover of the U.S. aircraft maker's latest midsize plane to the carrier.
The ceremony was attended by some 200 participants, including JAL President Yoshiharu Ueki. JAL is scheduled to fly the aircraft between Tokyo and Boston starting April 22.
Services connecting Japan with San Diego and Helsinki are also planned for the aircraft, which is around 20 percent more fuel-efficient than previous models.
JAL officials have said it may also be used for flights to New York and Los Angeles.