US, Japan agree to seek 'open skies' deal by year-end

I / Washington September 17, 2009, 11:15 IST

The US and Japan have agreed to pursue the completion of bilateral "open skies" negotiations by the end of this year, a Japan-US negotiation source has said.     

It would be Japan's first open skies deal with another country.A bilateral open skies accord is aimed at giving air carriers more freedom in opening routes and choosing the number of flights between the two countries.     

The recent agreement between the two countries' aviation authorities to complete negotiations by the end of the year was reached as the US wants to strengthen the its industry's services in Asia and as Japan judges that a deal will help it to achieve goal of increasing its airports' international presence.     

Tokyo had been reluctant to conclude an open skies accord with Washington due to concerns that it would have negative effects on the Japanese aviation industry.

Negotiations are expected to accelerate in the months ahead as the new administration under the Democratic Party of Japan is said to be supportive of a bilateral open skies deal.     

The most recent round of talks took place in Washington last week. The next round of talks will be held in Tokyo on October 26.