January 27, 2012

Leaders of agricultural and medical associations on January 25 pledged to strengthen their efforts to block Japan’s entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement at a joint press conference hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.

They were Banzai Akira, president of the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA-Zenchu), and Haranaka Katsuyuki, president of the Japan Medical Association.

Banzai stated that a nationwide network, established by agricultural, forestry, fisheries, and consumers’ organizations, jointly carried out a signature campaign against the multinational free-trade pact and submitted 11.67 million signatures to the government.

Reporting on the JA group’s visit to the United States and Canada from January 16 to 18, he said that the delegation conveyed the mounting opposition to the TPP in Japan to representatives of agricultural organizations and governments there.

On the same day, JA Yamagata prefectural branch chair Imada Masao at a meeting with the press reported on talks that the JA delegates had with U.S. and Canadian farmers during the tour.

According to Imada, leaders of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and the Dairy Farmers of Canada expressed the opinion that the TPP will have a devastating impact on Canadian dairy and poultry farming industries while representatives of the U.S National Farmers Union said that it will deal a heavy blow to small- and medium-sized agricultural businesses.