August 26, 2003	Tuesday	Jumadi-us-Sani 27, 1424

TOKYO, Aug 25: Japan on Monday expressed its immediate opposition to a draft declaration on freeing up agricultural and other areas of trade, and called for its revision ahead of WTO talks in Cancun next month.

Tokyo made the remarks a day after the WTO top official in Geneva circulated the draft of a declaration to be issued at a crucial ministerial trade summit in the Mexican resort city in two weeks.

“Although we can detect a certain flexibility, our stance explained in documents is not reflected” in the draft, Japanese farm minister Yoshiyuki Kamei said in a statement.

Kamei claims the draft’s call for the introduction of a ceiling for tariff rates on imports would hurt Japan’s rice industry which is currently effectively protected by a tariff of 490 per cent imposed on imported rice.

“We regard (the draft) as the one that contains considerable problems,” Kamei said.

“We are going to continue demanding its revision,” he said. “We will do our best to let our voice be reflected.”—AFP