Japan Press Weekly

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2012 September 19 - 25 [POLITICS]

Political parties’ attitudes toward TPP

The government led by the Democratic Party of Japan is strengthening its positive attitude toward participating in negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. Japan’s main political parties’ views on the TPP are as follows:

The DPJ is promoting the TPP. According to the party’s “declaration”, which is a draft for its manifesto for the next general election, the DPJ argues that it will push forward with not only the TPP but the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with China, South Korea and ASEAN nations to establish the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).

The largest opposition Liberal Democratic Party criticizes the DPJ for mishandling the TPP issue. The LDP lists 6 items as criteria to participate in the free trade pact in a document published in March. These items, however, are all proposals to facilitate taking part in the TPP negotiations.

The Komei Party takes a noncommittal attitude, saying that it has insufficient data to make a decision. The party is just opposing a “haste entry” into the agreement.

The Your Party is aiming at Japan joining in the pact in an early stage. Watanabe Yoshimi, the party’s leader, attended a rally promoting the TPP which was held by Japanese business circles such as the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) two years ago. At the meeting, he presented his party as a promoter of the pact, saying, “I am the only one who attended this rally among all leaders of all political parties in the country.”

The Japan Restoration Party (Nippon Ishin-no-kai) headed by Osaka Mayor Hashimoto Toru is also advocating Japan’s entry into the TPP. The party’s platform states that it will make efforts to enter the TPP and expand the FTA. When Dietmembers of other parties apply for joining the “Ishin-no-Kai”, it gives these applicants a “test” asking whether they are in favor of the free trade agreement or not.

The Japanese Communist Party stresses the importance of developing the economy based on the principle of equality and mutual benefit which respects all nations’ economic rights including food sovereignty. Arguing that the participation in the TPP, which requires the abolition of all tariffs, will inflict severe damage to people’s everyday lives as well as Japan’s economy overall, the party is working hard to expand cooperation among the general public to stop the nation’s entry into the pact.