WASHINGTON—The United States and Japan announced on Wednesday a new trade partnership to boost cooperation on labor, environment, and digital trade issues, with an emphasis on “third country concerns,” a reference to China’s state-driven economic policies. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who is in Tokyo to meet with new Japanese government ministers, said initial meetings of the U.S.-Japan Partnership on Trade would take place early in 2022, with periodic meetings on a regular basis. “This partnership will deepen the cooperation between the United States and Japan that has defined our strong bilateral trade relationship,” Tai said in a statement issued by her office in Washington. “Our close collaboration will support the Biden-Harris Administration’s economic framework for the Indo-Pacific and help create sustainable, resilient, inclusive, and competitive trade policies that lift up our people and economies.” USTR’s statement made no mention of the new forum as a body aimed at negotiating …