The new ambassador to China, Uichiro Niwa, criticized bureaucrats Monday for focusing only on the interests of their ministries and not the nation, and expressed a strong desire to reform the system.
Niwa also urged the government to begin talks on concluding a free-trade agreement with Beijing.
He acknowledged that an FTA with China would face strong opposition from farmers but said Japan needs to strengthen the international competitiveness of its protected agricultural products.
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