Obama Suffers Setbacks in Japan and the Mideast - NYTimes.com
▻http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/25/world/asia/obama-asia.html?emc=edit_th_20140425&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=67617143&_r=0
TOKYO — President Obama encountered setbacks to two of his most cherished foreign-policy projects on Thursday, as he failed to achieve a trade deal that undergirds his strategic pivot to Asia and the Middle East peace process suffered a potentially irreparable breakdown.
Mr. Obama had hoped to use his visit here to announce an agreement under which Japan would open its markets in rice, beef, poultry and pork, a critical step toward the trade pact. But Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was not able to overcome entrenched resistance from Japan’s farmers in time for the president’s visit.
