U.S., Japan Plan Fresh Round of Talks on Aviation Dispute

Japanese and U.S. transport ministers will meet in Los Angeles on Thursday in an attempt to resolve their aviation dispute, but prospects for a breakthrough are unclear.

Japanese Transport Minister Shizuka Kamei announced the fresh round of talks at a news conference Tuesday, but he said he is unsure about the chances of a settlement in the discussions with U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico Pena.

“So far, difficult situations have continued,” he said.

The aviation dispute came to a head in recent months over Tokyo’s refusal to accept Federal Express Corp.’s plans for Asian route extensions through Japan.

Tokyo is demanding a revision of a bilateral aviation pact, as well as more cargo flights from Japan to the United States and beyond, in exchange for accepting Federal Express’ application.

Japan and the United States were still deeply divided following the latest round of talks in Tokyo on Saturday.

Although Kamei said Tuesday that Japan will not compromise with the United States, he indicated he does not want to let the issue become a bitter dispute such as that on auto trade, which was resolved three weeks ago.

“We cannot accept unreasonable demands, but we will do our utmost in order to maintain a good relationship between the two countries,” Kamei said.

Negotiations at the vice ministerial level will be held at the same time as the ministerial talks.

Washington has threatened sanctions on cargo flights by Japanese carriers if there is no progress in the talks.

Japanese Vice Transport Minister Minoru Toyoda said Monday that if Washington imposed the sanctions, Japan might consider abandoning the existing bilateral aviation pact and refuse to hold further negotiations. Japan has also repeatedly warned it will retaliate immediately if the United States goes ahead with the sanctions.

Media in both nations reported earlier this week that the two governments would likely hold the next round somewhere between Tokyo and Washington, possibly in Hawaii or San Francisco, to avoid pressure from the aviation industry.

But Kamei said neither of these places impressed him as a good venue, adding: “Hawaii reminds us of Pearl Harbor. . . . San Francisco is where Japan and the Allies, excluding the former Soviet Union, signed their peace treaty in 1951.”

On another trade front, Japanese officials disputed U.S. figures in the recently negotiated auto accord, but said the pact is not in jeopardy.

The agreement, reached hours before a June 28 deadline, narrowly averted punitive U.S. tariffs against Japanese luxury cars.

President Clinton applauded the pact at the time, saying it carried specific commitments to U.S. car companies. But Japanese trade officials, in a summary of the talks released Monday, stressed that the agreement “does not guarantee results.”

The report says that some of the U.S. figures are “false or misleading.”