Australia's Abbott: Free trade pact with Japan 'within our grasp'

TOKYO (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Monday that after long-running negotiations with Japan a bilateral free trade agreement was now "within our grasp." "Things are going very well indeed," Abbott said in a speech at a luncheon with business leaders in Tokyo. Japanese media reported that Abe and Abbott will announce the basic bilateral agreement later in the day, featuring cuts to Tokyo's tariffs on Australian beef and Canberra ending its duty on cars. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Writing by Dominic Lau; Editing by Eric meijer)