Japan, New Zealand to continue discussions on FTA, whaling+

TOKYO, Oct. 28 Kyodo - Japan and New Zealand agreed Wednesday to continue discussions over sticky bilateral issues such as a free trade accord and Japanese whaling, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.

The agreement was reached during talks between Japanese Foreign Minister
Katsuya Okada and his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully. The two also
signed an agreement earlier in the day to promote cooperation in science and
technology.
On the bilateral free trade agreement, McCully expressed hope toward progress,
while Okada said he is seeing ''difficulties'' in the issue especially in the
area of dairy and other products, the official said.
But Okada said he would like to continue discussing the matter between the two
countries.
As for Japanese whaling, which New Zealand is opposed to, McCully said he would
like to seek a diplomatic resolution on the issue, although admitting there are
differences of opinion between the two countries.
Okada said there may be difficulties because the issue reflects ''cultural
backgrounds.'' The two, however, agreed on the need to continue discussions,
the official said.
Japan halted commercial whaling in line with an international moratorium that
took effect in 1986 but has been hunting whales since 1987 for what it calls
scientific research purposes. Ecologists condemn the program as a cover for
commercial whaling.
The bilateral science and technical cooperation agreement is expected to
promote cooperation especially in the area of biotechnology such as health food
products, according to another ministry official.
McCully is accompanying New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, who is making a
six-day visit to Japan from Tuesday.
==Kyodo