Japan defended its rice subsidies as legal.

The government said it appreciated U.S. Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter’s rejection last week of an unfair-trading complaint against Japan filed by the U.S. Rice Millers Assn., but expressed reservations about taking the issue to coming world trade talks under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. In rejecting the claim, Yeutter said Japan “has an obligation to place its rice program on the negotiating table,” but a Japanese spokesman said the rice subsidization is consistent with GATT trade rules.