In a statement submitted to the World Trade Organization on Wednesday, the United States urged Japan to more widely open up its automobile and agricultural markets to foreign competitors, saying Tokyo should "take new, bold steps" to remove regulations and nontariff barriers to trade.
The statement indicates the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is likely to focus on the auto and agricultural sectors in the upcoming economic dialogue to be overseen by Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.
"In particular, the United States has expressed strong concerns for years about the overall lack of access to Japan's automotive market for U.S. automotive companies, due to nontariff barriers," the U.S. claimed in the statement submitted to WTO headquarters in Geneva.