Japan-EU agree to free trade talks; autos a flashpoint
TOKYO/BRUSSELS Mon Mar 25, 2013 9:08am EDT  Japan's Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech during the ruling Liberal
Democratic Party (LDP) annual convention in Tokyo March 17,
2013. REUTERS/Toru Hanai   Credit: Reuters/Toru Hanai
TOKYO/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Japan and the European Union agreed
on Monday to launch talks on one of the world's most ambitious
trade deals despite opposition from European carmakers, a test
of how far both sides are willing to go in their hunt for
economic growth.  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council
President Herman Van Rompuy discussed the plan by phone after
Brussels postponed an EU-Japan summit scheduled in Tokyo due to
the crisis in Cyprus.  "The leaders decided to launch
negotiations for an agreement covering political, global and
sectoral cooperation," Abe, Van Rompuy and Barroso said in a
joint statement, adding talks should start in April.  Bru