Merkel visit, Japan-EU trade deal focus

Tokyo, March 10, (dpa/GNA) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday called for the conclusion of free trade talks between the European Union and Japan, as she finished a two-day visit to the country.

Difference in emissions regulations for trucks, for example, create considerable bureaucracy that could be avoided by harmonizing standards, she said after touring the manufacturing facility of truck builder Mitsubishi Fuso in Kawasaki, near Tokyo.

The company is a joint venture 90-per-cent owned by Germany's Daimler AG and the rest by Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation.

"There are many commonalities, there are differences, but there are good reasons to intensify relations between Germany and Japan," Merkel said.

Merkel left Japan on Tuesday afternoon after her first visit there in seven years.

The European Union and Japan in February held the ninth round of talks on a free trade deal, with the next meeting planned in Tokyo for late April.

Earlier Tuesday, the chancellor met with a group of women in senior political and business positions.

She said previously on her visit that boosting the number of high-ranking women was important. Germany is currently debating legislation to introduce a quota for women at certain levels in businesses.

Kyodo News Agency reported that Merkel had discussed the issue of wartime sex slaves, often referred to in Japan as comfort women, with opposition leader Katsuya Okada before departing on Tuesday.

Merkel on Monday called on Japan to improve relations with its neighbours, amid rising territorial and historic tensions.

Germany had reconciled with its own World War II foes because it "squarely faced its past," Merkel said.

The Japanese government said Tuesday that it was "inappropriate" to simply compare the two countries' experience in World War II.

The starting point for both nations was different, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.

He said the two countries also differed in terms of what happened during the war, how they engaged in post-war settlements, and their neighbours.

GNA