Japan’s parliament on Wednesday ratified a free trade agreement with Mexico, paving the way for it to go into effect next April as targeted by Tokyo.

"Today the upper house of parliament approved the Japan-Mexico economic partnership agreement," said foreign ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima.

"In order for both nations’ peoples to fully enjoy the benefits of this pact, wc will continue to take necessary procedures," he told reporters.

Parliament still needs to pass trade and tax code bills to back up the free trade agreement while Mexico’s legislature has yet to ratify it, another ministry official said.

The pact, signed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Mexican President Vicente Fox in September in Mexico City, is Japan's first free trade agreement with a Latin American country and Mexico’s first with an Asian country-

The trade deal has strategic importance for Japan since export-oriented plants in Mexico will have non-tariff access to big consumer markets in the United States and Canada under the North American

Free Trade Agreement.

Mexico for its part hopes the deal will translate into greater Japanese investment in Mexico and increased access, particularly to Japan's lucrative farm products market. Japan imports 60 billion dollars worth of food a year.

Bilateral trade in 2002 totalled 5.5 billion dollars with Mexico importing some 3.7 billion dollars worth of goods from Japan.

The only other free trade accord Japan has is one with Singapore. It is currently in bilateral free trade negotiations with Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand.