U.S., Japan Scramble In Aviation Negotiations

Working against the clock, U.S. and Japanese officials will attempt to resolve their disagreement over a bilateral aviation treaty before Friday, when the Clinton administration has said it will impose sanctions against two Japanese cargo airlines.

Negotiators will sit down in Tokyo Thursday. The negotiators met for three days here last week.

The United States has said it will impose sanctions against two Japanese all-cargo carriers because of what it calls Japan’s continued refusal to honor the current aviation bilateral agreement between the two nations.

Defying what Washington says is plainly stated in the document, Tokyo is refusing to allow Federal Express Corp. to serve Osaka’s Kansai airport from its new Asian cargo hub at Subic Bay, the Philippines.

A U.S. team led by Mortimer Downey, deputy secretary of transportation, met last week with Japan’s vice minister of transport, Naoki Hirano.

The United States continued to insist that Federal Express be allowed to serve its requested routes and Japan refused to back down without assurances the United States will reopen discussions on the current aviation treaty.