Category Archives: Trade Talks

【News】 Wide gaps between Japanese and U.S. farming industries revealed (Oct. 17, 2013)

  Representatives of the Japanese farming industry told their American counterparts in Washington on Tuesday, October 15, that they believe the Japanese government will protect key agricultural products from tariff elimination, while the farmers’ groups in the United States called for tariff cuts without exception under the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks. The delegation of the Japan Agricultural Co-operatives (JA) group, led by Akira Banzai, head of the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu), met with leaders of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), National Farmers Union representing family farms and the National Corn Growers Association. In a meeting with NPPC Vice President Nick Giordano, Banzai said he is convinced that … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 Wise adults make a nation truly competitive (Oct. 13, 2013)

  We haven’t seen such delightful news for quite a while. An authoritative survey by an international organization evaluated Japanese adults, especially middle-aged men and women, as the world’s most skilled people. Not only were Japanese adults ranked top in terms of scores, but the gap between those who scored well and those who did not was small, which means that Japanese people are very well skilled in general. The good results are attributable to the high level of compulsory education which is provided equally to all people, and the existence of a thick layer of middle-class. Political leaders should recognize that neoliberalism will deteriorate such good qualities of Japanese … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 LDP has responsibility to avoid the government from modifying the list of key agricultural products (Oct. 12, 2013)

  As the members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks speed up negotiations on tariffs, the Liberal Democratic Party decided to examine the effects of eliminating tariffs on 586 subdivided items of the five key agricultural products. The party said they will conduct the examination on the assumption that resolutions adopted by the party and the upper and lower houses of the Diet will be protected. The resolutions state that tariffs on the five products should be maintained, but there is a danger that the government might exploit the results of the examination in the negotiations. It is the party’s duty to prevent it. Koya Nishikawa, head of the LDP’s … Continue reading

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【News】 The ruling LDP party to examine the effects of eliminating tariffs on key agricultural products (Oct. 11, 2013)

  The Liberal Democratic Party’s two panels jointly held a meeting on Thursday, October 10, and decided to examine the effects of eliminating tariffs on key agricultural products under the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks. At the meeting, Koya Nishikawa, head of the LDP’s TPP committee, said that it is necessary to look at tariffs according to subdivided items under the products, although repeatedly explaining that this does not mean he is trying to leave out certain items from the list of five untouchable agricultural products. The LDP’s committee on TPP affairs and headquarters for regional diplomatic and economic partnership agreed as a party to proceed with verifying the effects in … Continue reading

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【News】 Three anti-TPP groups make protest to Abe for looking into reviewing the “untouchable” tariffs (Oct. 10, 2013)

  Three groups each representing lawyers, university professors and housewives who are against the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks submitted a letter of protest to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Liberal Democratic Party member Koya Nishikawa on Wednesday, October 8, for considering modifying the list of five untouchable import tariffs to be discussed in the TPP negotiations. The groups urged Nishikawa, head of the LDP’s committee on the TPP talks, to retract the remarks he made on Sunday, October 6, stating that the remarks “are totally unacceptable” because they go against the party’s campaign pledge and the resolution made by the agricultural committees of the upper and lower houses of the … Continue reading

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