WASHINGTON--Japan and the United States agreed to work to dispel rumors that have prompted import restrictions and other measures imposed on Japanese goods on grounds of possible radioactive contamination.
The agreement came during a 30-minute meeting between visiting Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department.
"We will advance cooperation focusing on first preventing damage from rumors and dispelling concerns about Japan's (key role in) supply chains," Matsumoto told reporters at a joint news conference. "We want people to visit Japan, for leisure or business. We want people to buy Japanese-made goods."
Many countries have restricted imports or taken other measures against Japanese food and manufactured products, citing risks of radioactivity, after the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Clinton said the United States is prepared to provide assistance to Japanese industries suffering damage from rumors.
She said Japanese and U.S. businesses will support the Japanese government's plans for rebuilding after the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Clinton was referring to a public-private partnership for post-quake reconstruction, which was agreed on during her meeting with Matsumoto in Tokyo earlier in April.
Matsumoto expressed appreciation for a broad range of cooperation offered by U.S. military personnel, relief workers and nuclear experts after the disaster.
"We can never forget the steadfast support we received," he said.
Matsumoto and Clinton reaffirmed plans to hold a meeting of foreign and defense ministers from the two countries before Prime Minister Naoto Kan's visit to the United States, which is slated for the first half of 2011.
Matsumoto said the ministers will discuss a number of issues, from revisions to common strategic objectives compiled in 2005, to the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture.
"Our common understanding is that deepening the Japan-U.S. alliance and cooperation is a key theme, which includes cooperation concerning the disaster," he said.
As for the date of the meeting, Clinton said the two countries are still trying to set it.
Matsumoto conveyed appreciation for U.S. cooperation over the nuclear accident during meetings with Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.
He also met National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon and Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg.
(This article was written by Masahiro Tsuruoka and Hiroshi Ito.)
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