Category Archives: Trade Talks

  The Liberal Democratic Party placed top priority on its 10-year plan to double farmers’ income, while the Democratic Party of Japan pledged to legislate the individual-household income compensation system, according to a survey conducted by the Japan Agricultural News on nine major political parties prior to the Upper House elections scheduled on Sunday, July 21. The survey asked the parties to list three top priority agricultural policies, and four out of nine major political parties – the People’s Life Party, the Japanese Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Green Wind party – expressed strong opposition to Japan’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, while the other … Continue reading →

  As the Diet’s regular session closed on Wednesday, June 26, political parties are all ready to campaign for the Upper House election in July. In addition to the ongoing argument over Japan’s entry in to the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, the key agricultural issue at hand is the Liberal Democratic Party’s pledge to double farmers’ income over the next 10 years, as opposition parties are questioning the viability of the plan. The LDP handed out leaflets explaining the plan in detail, while the Democratic Party of Japan published a special edition of its bulletin featuring criticisms on the LDP plan. Opposition parties volleyed a string of questions on the … Continue reading →

  Japan and Australia are unlikely to conclude the ongoing negotiations for an economic partnership agreement before September, sources said Monday, June 24. The two governments have been negotiating to strike a basic deal as early as this month, the remaining issue being whether Japan will agree to imposing lower tariffs for a certain amount of imports of sensitive agricultural products such as beef from Australia in exchange for phased reduction of Australia’s tariffs on Japanese car imports. The governments, however, have decided to put off the discussion until fall, as the Upper House election in Japan is scheduled in July and Australia’s federal election is planned in September, and … Continue reading →

  Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry, which will host the forthcoming round of negotiations under the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks scheduled in July, announced Thursday, June 20, that in 14 out of 29 chapters of the agreement, “negotiations on technical and less contentious issues are considered substantially closed.” The 14 chapters do not include key areas such as market access and tariffs, but the announcement indicates that Japan, which is expected to join the talks in the later part of the round of negotiations in Malaysia, is getting less chance to have its say as the final stages draw near. In the TPP initiative, 21 working groups are … Continue reading →

  The ruling Liberal Democratic Party unveiled on Thursday, June 20, a campaign platform for the Upper House election expected in July, putting forth its 10-year strategy to double farmers’ incomes, with ambitious goals of doubling the number of beginning farmers and facilitating farmland consolidation so that within 10 years, 80% of agricultural land will be cultivated by locally certified farmers who serve as the backbone of farming communities. Currently, such farmers manage only 49% of farmlands, and the rest is operated by small-scale farmers, many of them aging and retiring, leading to an increase in abandoned farmlands. Concerning the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks which Japan is expected to join … Continue reading →