Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Friday he will participate in ministerial talks on global trade liberalization in London.
His participation in the Monday meeting will mark Japan's first involvement in the talks, launched earlier this year by the United States, the European Union, India and Brazil to discuss how to push forward negotiations in the World Trade Organization's Doha Round of trade liberalization.
"Japan is the biggest net food importer in the world," Nakagawa told a regular news conference. "Japan's nonparticipation does not contribute to the WTO as a whole."
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshihiro Nikai will also accompany Nakagawa to the talks, which will include discussions of policy proposals by the Group of 10 food-importing countries.
Japan had been excluded from the discussions until now as it has been reluctant to open up its agricultural market and thus has been regarded as having made little contribution to advancing the Doha Round negotiations.
Japan's invitation to the ministerial talks came after Tokyo lobbied to join because of its position as a major trader and food importer, trade and diplomatic sources in Geneva said.
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