Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2013 October 9 - 15 TOP3 [ECONOMY]

Abe Cabinet breaks promise to citizens on TPP

Akahata editorial

A summit meeting on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement in Indonesia failed to reach a broad agreement contrary to the U.S. government’s aim. It is now probable that the multinational negotiations cannot be concluded within this year.

The Japanese government is attempting to hide the details of the negotiations from the public. The negotiations have revealed significant problems in the TPP pact. Trying to put citizens’ living conditions under the control of multinational corporations, the free-trade pact goes against the world current calling for democratic control.

Five key products

The latest summit meeting was expected to set the stage for U.S. President Barack Obama to be able to urge other countries to reach an agreement by the end of this year. Blindly following the U.S. and recognizing himself as a bridge between the U.S. and emerging market countries, Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo volunteered to be a coordinator in concluding an agreement by the end of 2013 on behalf of Obama, who was absent from the summit meeting.

Strengthening its position to promote the TPP negotiations, the Abe Cabinet must have taken into consideration a scenario to change Japan’s initial policy which is becoming an “obstacle” to the multinational talks. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has embarked on revising its initial promise to exclude five key products (rice, wheat, beef and pork, dairy products, sweeteners) from removal of tariffs. As soon as Nishikawa Koya, head of the LDP’s TPP panel, made a remark on a possibility of revision, it was immediately supported by LDP Secretary General Ishiba Shigeru and Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide.

Japan’s entry into the TPP will sharply decrease Japan’s self-sufficiency rate in food, destroy agriculture, disrupt local economies, and undermine the universal health insurance system and other foundations for citizens’ living conditions. Even the Abe Cabinet has publicly stated that the five items should be protected from the free-tariff deal. To allow it to break its initial promise cannot be tolerated.

Abe, in Indonesia, promised to become a “drill bit” to crush rock-hard regulations on Japanese agricultural and medical services. The TPP is a perfect tool for him to advance his agenda because he thinks that Japan should “become a country that provides the best working environment for companies”. With that tool, he will be in position ready to destroy people’s lives.

The TPP, however, is not invincible. Only a half of APEC countries are participating in the TPP negotiations. Indonesia itself also abstains from joining the TPP sessions.

The talks are facing a lot of difficulties. While industrialized countries want to maximize the patent term for medicines, newly industrialized economics call for the need to maintain support for generic drugs. A sharp conflict remains between the former trying to protect the interests of large pharmaceutical corporations and the latter supporting state-run companies. Malaysian Prime Minster Najib has doubts that the deal can be concluded within the year. Former PM Mahathir warns that the TPP will turn Malaysia into a colony again. He states that the country should defend its sovereignty.

Withdraw from TPP talks

The TPP will liberalize the trade of products and services. It will also standardize each country’s system in order to ensure as much profit as possible for multinational enterprises. As the TPP bargaining process progresses, it has become more and more apparent that the TPP entails the risk of infringing on each country’s sovereignty and destroying people’s standard of living and livelihoods.

With the view to conclude the pact within this year, the Abe government has begun reviewing its initial promise to protect Japan’s five key items. The TPP negotiation climate has become tense. It is time for Japan to immediately withdraw from the TPP negotiations.

* * *

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Kami Tomoko is visiting Bali (from Oct. 4) to get a feel for the actual situation in the multilateral negotiations on the free trade agreement.

Concerning the fact that government leaders cannot reach a broad consensus on the TPP details at this time, Kami stated that it reveals major differences in what each government is aiming for and what their publics are calling for.

She reported that Abe in Bali described himself as a bridge between developed and developing countries, and that the negotiations also exposed Abe’s stance as being not well thought out.

She said, “The TPP negotiations hide pertinent information from the public and are an affront to democracy in its haste to conclude the deal to meet the U.S. demand. The Japanese government, in complying with the U.S. demands, even began considering removing tariffs on Japan’s five items of key farm products. This is a serious betrayal of its promise to the general public.”