Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont arrived in Tokyo on Monday to meet with Japanese leaders and sign a free trade agreement, officials said. Surayud will hold talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and sign the trade pact on Tuesday, The Associated Press quoted the Thai Embassy in Japan as saying. The two leaders are also expected to discuss other bilateral and regional issues, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said on customary condition of anonymity. The trade pact will reduce or remove tariffs between the two countries on a wide variety of goods, including agricultural products. However, Japan insisted that Thai rice be excluded to protect Japanese farmers. Under the agreement, Thailand will gradually reduce tariffs on Japanese cars and automobile parts. Japan will cut tariffs on Thai boneless and cooked chicken over five years, and immediately abolish duties on shrimp and tropical fruit, including mangos, mangosteens, durians, papaya and coconut.
