Japan and Canada agreed Sunday to formally start talks aimed at forging a free trade agreement between the two countries. If established, the pact would be Japan's first with a country from the Group of Eight major economies, the Associated Press reported. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his Canadian counterpart, Stephen Harper, said they would also seek to boost economic, energy and security relations between the two countries. "This is a truly historic step that will help create jobs and growth in both countries," Harper told a joint news conference. "The negotiations we are announcing today complement Canada's ambitious trade agenda." For his part, Noda stressed the importance of accelerating private-sector cooperation on the trade of natural gas and other energy resources. The two leaders are heading to Seoul to attend this week's Nuclear Security Summit. "We reaffirmed the importance to tackle outstanding global issues, particularly the issues surrounding North Korea and others in the Asia-Pacific region, as we cooperate as partners," Noda said.
