Japan seeks to start direct fl ights linking Tokyo’s domestic airport of Haneda with Shanghai’s Hongqiao by the end of 2007, reducing fl ight time between the cities.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said he wants the fl ights to start this year, Abe’s spokesman Hiroshige Seko told reporters in Tokyo.

Haneda, Japan’s busiest airport, is closer to downtown Tokyo than the bigger Narita International Airport. Like Hongqiao, it typically serves domestic routes. Demand for a shorter international route has increased as business between the countries grows.

South Korea and China last month agreed to open a quicker air route between Seoul and Shanghai, also using airports closer to their respective downtowns than the main international airports, to help meet growing fl ight demand between the cities.