ISDS Case Map
Japan
An envisioned regional free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific may affect China's possible free trade agreements with South Korea and Japan, giving the world's No. 2 economy less bargaining power, a Chinese scholar said Thursday.
Japan has denied a White House statement that Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told US President Barack Obama he would put all goods and services on the negotiating table for trade liberalisation. The White House stood by its statement, issued on Saturday, despite Japan's denial.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Thursday postponed his widely expected announcement that Japan will join the US and other countries in negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying he wanted to sleep on the issue for a day before making his final decision.
Thousands of Japanese farmers and fishermen have rallied in Tokyo to voice opposition to Japan’s proposed participation in an expanded Asia-Pacific free trade organization.
The Japanese government is expected to decide on Thursday to join negotiations for a Pacific free trade agreement to boost the country's sluggish economy, overcoming resistance within the ruling party and the farm industry that fear an adverse impact from the U.S.-backed tariff-cutting pact.
The Philippines and Japan are in agreement to undertake a comprehensive review of its bilateral free trade agreement, but are likely to clash in their objectives as the Philippines is set to go for more protection of its interest, like higher tariffs on some imports from Japan, in contrast to Japan’s call for further trade liberalization and other sectors covered under the agreement.
The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Taipei (JCCI) urged Taiwan Friday to sign free trade agreements (FTAs) with more countries to enhance its investment competitiveness. "Taiwan tends to highly rely on China," Kyota Kishimoto, JCCI's chairman, told reporters after a press conference to present an annual position paper to the Cabinet-level Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD).
As emerging Asian economies facilitate growth in the region and increasingly stand out as important players in global trade, the United States appears intent on getting its own share of the pie in the form of taking a leadership role in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade framework.
In an upscale neighborhood where Japanese buy their handbags and smartphones, furious farmers drove their tractors down the main road last week in their latest protest against a controversial regionwide free-trade pact.
Japanese farmers groups submitted 11.67 million signatures to the government Monday on a petition opposing Japan's participation in trade liberalization talks with other Pacific Rim countries.
