Japan Press Weekly

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2016 January 6 - 12 [POLITICS]

Gov’t releases full text of negotiated TPP accord in Japanese translation following JCP request

The Japanese government on January 7 released on its website the Japanese translation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement. This move was apparently made following the demand to do so by the Japanese Communist Party in a House of Councilors plenary session earlier that day.

JCP member of the House of Councilors Inoue Satoshi in his interpellation at the House plenary session took up the issue regarding the basic agreement on TPP talks between the Japanese government and 11 negotiating countries in October 2015.

JCP Inoue pointed out that although the government reached the agreement by making a major compromise and breaking a Diet resolution, it only published a Japanese translation of a summary of the agreement. He urged the government to give the Diet full information about the TPP talks together with the full text of the TPP agreement in Japanese in order to proceed with parliamentary and public discussions.

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in reply said that the government will release the text as early as possible.

In both Houses’ committee meetings held during a three-month recess of the Diet late last year, JCP parliamentarians repeatedly called on the government to make public the Japanese translations of the TPP full text.

The government released only a provisional translation of the text and has yet to make a translation of other documents attached to the agreement although they are vital to see the whole picture of the TPP.

Past related articles:
> JCP Kami urges gov’t to withdraw from TPP [November 12, 2015]
> Japanese government must not sign TPP deal: Shii [October 6, 2015]