Japanese economy minister says trade talks with U.S. in final stage

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan and the United States made enough progress in trade talks in recent days to give momentum to a Pacific-wide free-trade pact, Japan's Economy Minister Akira Amari said early Tuesday. The talks in recent days "significantly narrowed the distance between the two sides" and are now in the final stage, Amari told reporters after two days of talks with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. This represents enough progress to be welcomed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Barack Obama when the leaders meet on April 28, he said. Still, both ministers instructed their working-level officials to work further on remaining differences over the key areas of rice and autos, and cabinet-level negotiations could be held again if necessary, Amari said. A bilateral deal is vital to the success of a 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact. (Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Kevin Liffey)