Tag Archives: Editorial

  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 →

  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 →

  The prospects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks are becoming more and more uncertain. The leaders of the TPP member countries issued a statement on Tuesday, October 8, reiterating their pledge to conclude a deal within the year. But they failed to present a basic agreement, revealing remaining deep-rooted conflicts. Meanwhile, the Japanese government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party began discussing revising the items whose tariffs must be retained. Protecting five key agricultural products, as stated in the resolutions adopted by the LDP and agricultural committees of the upper and lower houses of the Diet, is a promise made to the Japanese people, and breaking the promise is … Continue reading →

  The members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks are speeding up their negotiations. As working group sessions on eliminating and reducing tariffs began on Friday, September 20, farmers nationwide are worriedly watching how the negotiations will proceed. The political sector of the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) held a meeting on Thursday, September 19, with many Diet members present, and confirmed that the Japanese government’s negotiating position should be based on the resolutions adopted by the agricultural committees of the lower and upper houses of the Diet, which calls for retaining tariffs on the five key agricultural products. The government must cut off its retreat in negotiating to protect the … Continue reading →