BUSINESS MEMO: NEGATIVE REPORT CARD

Japan's recent efforts to expand sales opportunities for American auto and auto parts makers have been disappointing, the Clinton administration said in issuing its most negative report card yet on results from a landmark 1995 trade deal.

The administration said last week that Japan had fallen short in meeting goals to expand the number of dealerships stocking American-made cars and in deregulating its repair market to allow sales of more foreign-made replacement parts.

The report, which is issued every six months, said overall sales by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler had risen by 34 percent in 1996, the first full year of the agreement that was reached under threat of punitive U.S. sanctions on Japanese luxury cars in 1995.