Japan Press Weekly

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2012 April 25 - May 8 [ECONOMY]

190 Dietmembers rally to have PM give up participating in TPP

More than 190 lawmakers in a rally crossed political party lines to block Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko’s attempt to announce Japan’s entry into negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade agreement during his stay in the United States at the end of the month.

In the rally held at the House of Representatives Members’ Office Building on April 24, the Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo (House of Representatives member) delivered a speech as one of 10 speakers, including Dietmembers of the Democratic, Liberal Democratic, and Komei parties.

Citing the fact that Japan was told at prior consultations with all nine TPP nations that the TPP agreement aims at zero-tariff rates without exception, Shii said that it will be required for Japan to remove tariffs on all agricultural products including rice, and criticized Noda’s remark when he said, “I will protect items that should be protected,” as just an empty promise.

Shii also pointed out that countries participating in the free-trade talks will be required to not disclose information regarding the content of the talks from the public as well as the legislature for four years. He stressed that Noda’s promise to be accountable and to guarantee sufficient national discussions on the negotiation is mere rhetoric.

Pointing out that once Japan joins the trans-Pacific free-trade bloc, its economy and social system will be changed to further benefit the U.S., Shii called on participants to work together to increase people’s opposition to Japan’s participation in the TPP and force the government to cancel its plan to enter into the TPP negotiations.

Former Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio, even though he is a DPJ member, agreed with Shii by saying, “The TPP agreement is designed to create a system favorable to U.S. corporations.