DPJ executive says party to adjust stance on proposed FTA with U.S.+

TOKYO, Aug. 4 Kyodo -
An executive of the Democratic Party of Japan said Tuesday that the main
opposition party plans to revise its proposal for a free trade agreement with
the United States apparently due to concern over a potential backlash from
Japanese farmers.

''There was an insufficient section that invites misunderstanding,'' DPJ acting
leader Naoto Kan said of his party's campaign platform at a gathering in
Sapporo ahead of the Aug. 30 general election.
The former health minister then expressed the party's intention to revise the
wording in the platform concerning the proposed trade agreement and to hammer
out a clear stance that opposes the lowering of tariffs on imported rice.
The DPJ said in its campaign platform, announced July 27, that it will seek to
''promote liberalization of trade and investment through the conclusion of a
free trade agreement with the United States.''
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party immediately attacked the proposal, saying
such an accord would lead to massive imports of farm products that would hit
domestic industries hard.
DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama has stressed that the party plans to exempt from
tariff cuts rice and other farm products considered important for domestic
growers, but some farm cooperatives, including the Central Union of
Agricultural Cooperatives, have issued statements criticizing the DPJ.
The DPJ made another flip-flop last week when it decided to add to its party
manifesto a promise to set up a legally defined consultative body between the
central and local governments.
The National Governors' Association has been calling for the establishment of
such a body to promote the decentralization of power to local governments.
==Kyodo