Japan Press Weekly

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2017 February 8 - 14 [ECONOMY]

Citizens rally to call for opposition to Japan-US FTA

On the day before the Abe-Trump meeting in Washington D.C., many citizens held a rally outside the prime minister’s office building in Tokyo to call for opposition to a free trade agreement between Japan and the United States.

This action was organized by civic groups opposing the TPP free trade pact. It is reported that at the summit conference, U.S. President Donald Trump will invite Prime Minister Abe Shinzo to enter into bilateral negotiations over a Japan-U.S. free trade agreement.

At the rally, Japan Family Farmers Movement (Nouminren) Secretary General Yoshikawa Toshiaki noted in his speech that the U.S. will definitely put pressure on Japan to remove tariffs on more American products than in the TPP deal. “Taking advantage of the cooperation increased through anti-TPP campaigns, let’s work together to expand the movement to block a Japan-U.S. FTA,” he stressed.

Yamaura Yasuaki, co-representative of another civil organization, pointed out the possibility that using the TPP agreement as a baseline, the Trump administration may press the Abe government to further relax Japan’s regulations on food additives and genetically modified food products.

Japanese Communist Party lawmakers Kami Tomoko and Saito Kazuko joined the rally along with other opposition legislators and gave speeches in solidarity.

Past related article:
> Farmers resolve to keep fighting until Abe gov’t fully gives up on TPP [January 17, 2017]