Kiwi pitch: New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is interviewed recently in Wellington. KYODO PHOTO
Key starts his six-day trip Tuesday. He plans to meet with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as well as Emperor Akihito and visit a number of companies.
This will be Key’s first visit to Japan since he ousted Helen Clark in a general election last November.
New Zealand’s largely agricultural-based economy has recently completed an FTA with China and is currently negotiating another with India.
With Japan ranking as New Zealand’s fourth-largest trading partner, Key is keen to make progress on the New Zealand-Japan FTA front.
New Zealand exports a range of products to Japan, including meat and dairy products, seafood and high-quality aluminum and coal, to the tune of 3.6 billion New Zealand dollars (about $2.6 billion) in 2008.
Japan supplies New Zealand with mainly high-tech, industrial goods, including cars and trucks. The value in 2008 was NZ$4.0 billion. – read more at JapanTimes.com.jp…