We cannot allow an important decision for Japan’s future to be made on such untrustworthy grounds — never without sufficient disclosure of information or national debate on the issue. The joint statement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks issued Friday, February 22, after a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and United States President Barack Obama does not offer any guarantee that Japan can maintain tariffs on key farm products, which is one of the six items the Liberal Democratic Party listed in its campaign pledge, as well as for other five items such as universal health insurance coverage. It is far too hasty to decide to join … Continue reading →

  As many had warned, the fear of the United States-South Korea Free Trade Agreement becoming an infringement of national sovereignty is coming true. South Korea was planning to introduce a system of imposing a surcharge on buyers of cars with excessive CO2 emissions in July, but the plan was postponed until the year 2015 under the pressure from the American auto industry. The decision was apparently made taking into account the underlying threat of an investor-state dispute resolution, a system which is expected to be introduced in the Trans-Pacific Partnership framework as well, and such a trend should on no account be overlooked. It was on March 15 last … Continue reading →