Japan's Abe - Will make preparations for January trade deal with U.S.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday that Japan would make necessary preparations for a trade deal with the United States to come into effect in January.

Japan's upper house of parliament on Wednesday approved the deal, which cuts tariffs on U.S. farm goods and Japanese machine tools. The lower house endorsed it last month.

President Donald Trump is expected to sign the implementing proclamation for the United States next week, according to United States Trade Representative.

The two leaders agreed in September to allow four months to consult on further bilateral trade talks after the initial deal goes into effect.

(Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto, writing by Kaori Kaneko and Elaine Lies)