Leaders of Japan and the EU are expected to hold a meeting in early July on the occasion of a summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies in Hamburg, Germany.

At their meeting in Tokyo this week, chief EPA negotiators from the two sides will redouble efforts to lay the groundwork for the planned Japan-EU summit, sources familiar with the situation said.

At the top negotiators' meeting, the two sides will aim to draw up a comprehensive draft text of the broad EPA accord by stepping up discussions on tariff cuts or elimination for a wide range of items, including key farm products and automobiles, the sources said.

The EU is demanding Japan's market liberalization for dairy products, pork, pasta and lumber. In particular, the EU is calling for Japanese tariffs on Camembert and mozzarella cheese to be slashed to zero from the current 29.8 percent.

The EU's farm sector demands are tough for Japan, although Tokyo has prepared an environment for dairy tariff talks with Brussels following the enactment earlier this month of the country's revised livestock business stabilization law that includes support for dairy farmers, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the EU has signaled its intention to accept Japan's demand for the abolition of the region's automobile tariffs. The tariff rate stands at 10 pct for passenger cars.

Still, the EU side may seek further concessions from Japan over farm tariffs in exchange for scrapping its vehicle tariffs within several years after the EPA takes effects, as sought by Japan, the sources said.

Another focus in the chief negotiators' meeting is to what extent Japan will show its readiness to liberalize the procurement market for the central and local governments. (Jiji Press)