A Japanese envoy off to mend trade fences

Japan's foreign-trade representative, Saburo Okita, left on a tour aimed at easing economic tensions with China, the United States, and Western Europe. Mr. Okita traveled first to China to seek compensation for the cancellation of contracts worth $1.5 billion with Japanese companies. The former foreign minister will also visit Western Europe and the US, Japan's two main export targets.

Meanwhile, Japanese oil negotiations in Tehran, Iran, have bogged down due to Iranian demands for advance payment of premiums, trade sources said