Mineta urges Japan to further liberalize maritime and aviation sectors

Mineta urges Japan to further liberalize maritime and aviation sectors    U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta praised Japan for its international contributions to highway and rail safety, but said the country must do more to liberalize its maritime and aviation sectors.
   “As other countries in the Pacific region open their markets, I believe it will become increasingly imperative for Japan to rethink whether transportation market restrictions are desirable … or even sustainable,” Mineta told the American Chamber of Commerce in Tokyo Monday.
   “Certainly, the market restrictions that constrain the transportation companies of our two nations do not do justice to the strong overall relationship between our countries, to our robust trade relationship, or to the cooperation that we have in other aspects of transportation,” he said.
   During the past year, the United States has concluded a maritime agreement and an air services agreement that has “substantially liberalized” the country’s relationship with China, Mineta noted.
   Mineta added he will be traveling to India this week to sign a new open skies bilateral agreement with India.