Japan Says to Join Pacific Free Trade Talks
Japan said Friday it would enter talks towards an Asia-Pacific free trade deal, a move that threatens to deepen rifts in the ruling party amid opposition from a farm industry fearing cheap imports.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said he made the decision to take part in talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), as Japan looks to boost its fragile economy and continue growing as a trading nation.
The move came hours before leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries gather for a summit in Hawaii.
"I have decided to start holding talks with related countries at the APEC meeting, which will start from tomorrow, towards joining the negotiations of TPP," Noda told reporters Friday.
The decision to join TPP negotiations comes amid a firestorm of debate, with Japan's exporters eager to expand their markets but farmers fearful that a massive flow of cheap food imports would destroy a weak agricultural sector.
Noda postponed the announcement Thursday, reflecting divisions in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).
Around 6,000 angry protesters against the TPP converged on Tokyo this week.
Noda said having a role in talks that will formulate the rules of the trade pact will advance Japan's national interest -- an issue that some U.S. lawmakers say means Tokyo will try to shelter its domestic market from competition.
"We will protect what needs to be protected, and win what we need to gain," Noda said Friday.
He added that Japan had to take part in the growth of the Asia Pacific region "to hand over today's wealth to the future generations and to develop a more vigorous society."
Until now, the TPP pact negotiations have involved the U.S., Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Critics of the plan argue that major industries in the larger economies -- such as pharmaceuticals in the United States or dairy in New Zealand -- would devastate local players.
The government of Noda's predecessor Naoto Kan had edged towards joining talks on the TPP, but a decision was delayed by efforts to deal with the aftermath of the March earthquake and tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster.
Noda has previously pushed for Japan to enter talks, saying the nation must open its markets to boost an economy hit by soft growth, the impact of the natural disasters and a soaring yen that is damaging its exporters.
Japan, citing food-security and cultural reasons, has long protected its now highly inefficient rice farmers against imports of cheaper grain from big producers such as the United States, Australia and Vietnam.
It has slapped a near 800 percent tariff on imported rice and up to 250 percent on wheat imports. These would disappear under a TPP deal.
However, Japan's Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives has campaigned vigorously against participation, saying a free trade deal would reduce food security.
Analysts say Noda will have to deploy his political skills to head off any rebellion inside the DPJ over the issue.
Some senior members including former farm minister Masahiko Yamada are openly against joining the trade agreement.
He was one among dozens of ruling and opposition lawmakers who took part in the Tokyo rally, which involved around 6,000 farmers, politicians and consumer groups.
Major businesses, academics and mainstream media have long pushed Tokyo to join the deal, a move they say will improve access to foreign markets and enhance regional trade and investment.
On Friday the Japan Automobile Manufacturing Association welcomed Noda's decision to join the negotiations.
However, an opinion poll by Kyodo News agency released Sunday showed that the Japanese public is sharply divided over the TPP, with 38.7 percent supporting Tokyo's participation in the trade negotiations while 36.1 percent are opposed.