Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2013 April 10 - 16 [POLITICS]

850 university teachers oppose Japan’s joining in TPP talks

A group of university lecturers announced at a news conference on April 10 that 850 teachers at Japanese universities are calling on Prime Minister Abe Shinzo to end his support for Japan’s entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade talks.

The 17-member group, including Tokyo University Emeritus Professor Daigo Satoshi, drew up a petition in late March to request the Abe administration not to enter into negotiations for the free trade deal. They appealed to teaching staff at universities around the country for support and more than 800 academics responded favorably within just two weeks.

Daigo said, “University academics in every field have a sense of an impending crisis in regard to the government’s handling of the TPP issue.”

Keio University Professor Kaneko Masaru pointed out the danger of the U.S. controlling the agenda and the outcome. “Japan’s participation in the free trade pact can be seen as a traitorous act as it will threaten Japan’s sovereignty,” he stressed.