Japan finance minister Aso says must avoid bilateral FTA with U.S.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday that Japan must avoid entering a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States to rectify trade imbalances.

Japan supports the postwar global trend of promoting multilateral trade frameworks, and the recent signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal was a significant development even without the participation of the United States, Aso told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Chris Gallagher)