EU, Japan to begin FTA talks

Disasters accelerate Tokyo's drive to strike deal with 27-nation bloc

BRUSSELS - The European Union and Japan agreed on Saturday to start talks on a free-trade agreement (FTA) to inject fresh impetus into the world's third-largest economy.

The announcement was made at a one-day EU-Japan summit in Brussels after European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso reaffirmed the EU-Japan partnership with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan.