Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on Tuesday signed a landmark free trade accord, which proponents here hope will boost bilateral trade but opponents protest in demonstrations.

The signing ceremony was held in Tokyo on the second day of the Thai leader's four-day official visit to Japan.

The Thai Cabinet approved the pact last week after it was debated in the National Legislative Assembly.

The two sides wrapped up talks on the draft accord early last year, but the signing was delayed because of the political turmoil in Thailand that led to the Sept. 19 military coup.

According to the context of the pact released by Thai media, about 97 percent of Japanese exports to Thailand and 92 percent of Thai exports to Japan will be tariff-free within 10 years.

In the agriculture part of the pact, Japan will immediately scrap tariffs on imports of processed shrimp and tropical fruits such as mango, papaya and durian, and halve tariffs on boneless and cooked chicken within five years. It will keep rice tariffs.

About automobiles part, Thailand will cut tariffs on automobiles with engines of 3,000 cc or larger to 60 percent from 80 percent over four years, and consider cuts for vehicles with larger engines. Thailand will also scrap tariffs on auto parts within seven years.

While on steel products, Thailand will immediately scrap tariffs on half of all steel imports from Japan and end tariffs on the remainder within 10 years.

About investor protection, Thailand pledges not to toughen rules for existing Japanese investments. New investments, however,will be subject to the country's controversial currency controls that require 30 percent of all incoming investment to be held by financial institutions for up to one year.

As to Intellectual Property Rights, both countries will strengthen protection for intellectual property rights. Japan assures Thailand that its firms will not unfairly patent genetically modified micro-organisms used in the food and medical industries -- one of the main concerns of Thai opponents of the deal.

On labor section, Japan will allow more Thai cooks to work in Japan by shortening the required minimum work experience to five years from 10, and continue discussions on rules for Thai spa therapists and care workers.

Japan is Thailand's biggest foreign investor and an important export market for Thai products with trade between the two countries valued at 1.65 trillion baht (about 44.1 billion U.S. dollars) during calendar 2006.

In a speech delivered at the Japan National Press Club early Tuesday, Surayud lauded the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement, or JTEPA, as "the foundation for a new era of intensified and sustainable friendship and partnership between our two peoples."

"Japanese foreign direct investment has played a pivotal role in Thailand's rapid industrialization," the Thai prime minister said. "It is upon this large-scale foundation of mutually beneficial economic relations that (the agreement) seeks to build."

However, opponents of the agreement criticized the government for not making its terms public.

Some 50 demonstrators gathered Tuesday in front of the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok and burned a copy of the accord to protest the signing of JTEPA. They also demanded that National Legislative Assembly (NLA) members submit a request for the Constitution Tribunal to invalidate the pact.