JAPAN

Air Cargo Talks Scheduled to Resume: U.S. Department of Transportation officials said the U.S.-Japan air cargo market negotiations that ended last week were “amicable� but declined further comment on whether any progress was made. The next round will start in late January in Tokyo. The dispute centers on a 44-year-old aviation agreement that Japan says favors the United States. It gives United Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Federal Express the right make stops in Japan when they add flights to and from other nations in Asia. Last summer, Japan refused to grant Federal Express seven new routes between Japan and other Asian nations, the United States then threatened to limit U.S.-bound cargo shipments on Japanese carriers, and Japan threatened counter-sanctions. Negotiators cobbled together a stopgap agreement in July.