Japan will import more rice from the United States but within the existing tariff-free quota, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Wednesday, stressing Tokyo's success in protecting the agricultural sector in agreeing a bilateral trade deal.

Japan has agreed to import more U.S. rice within its existing tariff-free quota as part of a broader bilateral trade deal that also includes a reduction in reciprocal tariffs on U.S. and Japanese goods from a previously proposed 25% to 15%.

Japan plans to increase its rice imports from the United States under a bilateral trade agreement, maintaining its WTO 'minimum access' framework. This facilitates 770,000 metric tons of tariff-free rice imports annually.