Japan Construction Jobs Elude Foreigners : Trade: 1994 accord fails to make headway in opening up government building projects.

Foreign companies have been nearly shut out of Japan’s construction market, despite an agreement that was to open up government contracts to outside bidders, a U.S. official said Thursday.

Of the 410 government construction projects awarded in Japan last year, only four contracts were awarded to foreign companies, according to the U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Japanese had promised under an April, 1994, accord that non-Japanese companies would have an easier time participating in public works projects. The agreement let foreign companies bid on projects for the central government, not for local communities.

But during a two-day meeting in Tokyo to review the accord, it was revealed that foreign companies had been awarded only a fraction of the contracts, the U.S. official said, citing the Japanese data.

Last year’s projects were estimated to be worth about $10.5 billion. Foreign companies participated in about $29.5 million of that total.

Japanese officials did say, however, that only six bids by foreign companies were entered during the fiscal year, which ended on March 31.

Washington has been very critical of Japan’s construction market, alleging that foreign companies have been shut out by price-fixing and secret agreements. The United States was disappointed with the results of the talks revealed Thursday, the American official said.

During the talks, Japanese officials said the results were “not surprising” and encouraged foreign companies to bid more aggressively on projects. But they also pointed out that imports of foreign building materials rose considerably over the last three years.

Construction is one of many controversial trade issues between the United States and Japan.

The two sides have been meeting periodically to measure trade progress in a number of industrial sectors, including telecommunication, medical equipment, paper and glass.

On Thursday, the Japanese Finance Ministry said it will exercise its right to raise tariffs on frozen beef on Aug. 1 to help domestic farmers cope with increased imports. Japan will boost the tariff to 50% from 48.1% through next March. Although frozen beef accounts for less than half of all beef imports in Japan, the United States is the biggest supplier.