Japan is taking steps that could lead to it fully opening its market to fresh US potatoes, following a request from Washington.
Japan bans imports of raw potatoes due to concerns over pests and disease, except for some sourced from the United States to be used exclusively for potato chips.
The agriculture ministry is currently assessing the quarantine risks posed by American potatoes, the third step in an 11-stage process before all restrictions can be lifted.
Officials plan to complete the risk assessment as early as this summer, and move on to identifying the pests and diseases that need to be dealt with.
Demand for fresh potatoes is rising in Japan, as domestic production has been on the decline.
Japanese potato farmers have voiced strong concern over full market opening. They say pests are hard to eradicate once they arrive, and would have a long-lasting impact on crop yields.