Japan, US vow to strive for early conclusion of TPP talks

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama held phone talks and agreed to continue their efforts to early conclude the ongoing talks on the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the government said Wednesday.

The talk came after a TPP-related negotiation between Japan and the United States held since last week, with the U.S. side urging Japan to take "bold" steps in the free trade framework talks that involve 12 countries.

Japan and the United States remain apart on agriculture and auto sectors and the two sides will continue the bilateral talks to close their gaps on the issue.

During the telephone talks, Abe and Obama also vowed to fight against the Ebola virus that have reportedly claimed more than 4, 000 lives in the West Africa countries, adding the issue should be tackled by the whole international community.