Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Chikage Ogi on Thursday asked visiting U.S. Commerce Secretary Norman Mineta to attend an international conference of land ministers in Japan next January, ministry officials said.
Mineta, the transportation secretary-designate in the nascent George W. Bush administration, reportedly did not give Ogi a definite answer.
Japan will invite representatives from more than 10 countries to the conference to discuss three issues: Prevention of maritime pollution, urban transportation and the environment, and the development and proliferation of environment-friendly automobiles. Mineta meanwhile reiterated the U.S. government's request to resume bilateral review meetings regarding Japan's 1994 Action Plan to improve its public works bidding system or to create an official mechanism to replace it, the officials said.