US, Japan fail to seal trade accord before Abe's trip to Washington

Tokyo

US and Japanese officials failed to reach agreement in marathon bilateral trade talks in Tokyo, a setback for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's hopes of arriving for a summit in Washington next week with a pact in hand.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman left Tokyo after negotiations concluded around 4am on Tuesday, with differences remaining over auto and rice imports. Mr Froman had travelled to Japan on Sunday for two days of talks with Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari to help pave the way for a broader Asia-Pacific agreement involving 10 other nations.

Differences on trade matters have "substantially narrowed", Mr Froman said before leaving the Japanese capital. The two countries have reached …