TOKYO (Reuters) - A senior Japanese trade negotiator said on Tuesday there had been no major progress on narrowing differences between Japan and the United States on the establishment of a Pacific trade block.
There were many issues that still need to be negotiated, Japan Deputy Chief Negotiator Hiroshi Oe told reporters.
Oe met U.S. Acting Deputy Trade Representative Wendy Cutler a day before U.S. President Barack Obama's scheduled arrival in Japan, where he will meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Obama's visit has put renewed emphasis on negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation trade bloc that would stretch from Asia to Latin America.
(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Robert Birsel)