Kyodo

Japanese media say Tokyo "is prepared to increase its import quota for U.S. rice by 50,000 tonnes a year, about a quarter of the U.S. goal, Reuters said at the end of bilateral talks between trade negotiators.

Trade officials from Japan and the United States opened a new round of talks in Tokyo on two sticking points, agriculture and autombiles, in negotiations for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, said the Kyodo news service.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said "we do not expect to have a final agreement" on the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact during a meeting of U.S. and Asian leaders in early November, said Kyodo news agency.

A face-to-face meeting of trade ministers from Japan and the United States "failed to reach a much-awaited breakthrough, seen as vital to advancing the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, at a three-day meeting on the...