Japanese and U.S. ministers said that bilateral trade negotiations got off to a good start on Sunday and the two nations would continue to discuss remaining issues, such as farm and auto trade, on Monday.

Japan's Economy Minister Akira Amari and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman made the comments after they kicked off two days of negotiations that could pave the way for a broader trans-Pacific trade deal.

"We had a good initial set of discussions tonight of the outstanding issues and laid out a path forward tomorrow for continuing those discussions," Froman told reporters. 

Access to Japan's farm market and the U.S. car market remain obstacles to a bilateral deal, vital to the success of a long-delayed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact.