Category Archives: Farm Policy

TOKYO, July 1 — Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has given a set of final recommendations to the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, seen as a last chance to press for keeping tariffs for sensitive agricultural products, before Japan and the EU’s sealing an overall trade deal. Meanwhile, Japan and EU held a ministerial meeting in Tokyo on the same day, June 30. Agriculture Minister Yuji Yamamoto met EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan to resolve key outstanding issues such as Japanese agriculture market access. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was to meet with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels on July … Continue reading →

TOKYO, June 23 – European Union’s regulations on Japan’s export of agricultural, forestry and fishery products to the European bloc are now crucial issues in Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) discussions. The trade talks currently affirm the removal of EU tariffs on Japanese wine, green tea, and some other agricultural products. However, just abolishing the taxes will not be enough to support the expansion of the export from Japan, unless regulations restricting export of those products are mitigated or eliminated. Japan sees the tariffs on Japanese food are one of the key issues in the area of the agricultural, forestry and fishery products. It has requested the bloc to remove … Continue reading →

TOKYO, June 26 – As Japan and the European Union work to conclude the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in early July, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration seems especially eager to strike a free trade deal in a bid to recover the plunging Cabinet support rate. In previous trade negotiations including the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement and the Japan-Australia EPA, the Japanese government announced that the two parties reached agreement only after they have ironed out virtually all the thorny issues. These agreements had been called “broad” agreements because there remained legal technicalities to be taken care of before the member countries sign the final agreement, but “were almost 100 percent agreed … Continue reading →

TOKYO, June 24 – Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was to meet Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on June 26, seen as last chance to press for keeping tariffs for sensitive agricultural products, before Japan and EU aimed to seal an overall trade deal. Prior to that gathering, the LDP held on June 23 a committee meeting about the impending Japan-EU trade deal. Members acknowledged the importance of Japan striking a trade deal with the EU as soon as possible in order to counter a backlash against globalization and protectionist sentiments around the world. Yet, there is a firm condition: “While we are pushing hard our offensive interests, it is … Continue reading →