ISDS Case Map
Japan
Japan's sponsorship of a vast free trade area including most of Asia, Australia and New Zealand is expected to be on the agenda when Associate Trade Minister Jim Sutton visits Tokyo later this month.
The Philippines' top diplomat said Wednesday he hoped to sign a delayed free-trade deal with Japan in July to mark the 50th anniversary of the re-establishment of relations after World War II.
The Japanese government plans to propose the formation of an Asian free-trade zone which could include half the world's population and rival the EU and NAFTA, an official of the trade ministry said.
A visiting Japanese researcher accused her own government of extending international aid that runs counter to the interest of the Filipinos. Kayoko's observation came after members of the Philippine House of Representatives petitioned the Supreme Court to stop the government from finalizing an economic agreement with Japan.
Even big Korean conglomerates may feel the blow if Seoul and Tokyo ink a free trade agreement, according to a report by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy.
A free trade agreement between South Korea and Japan is expected to reduce domestic sales of local carmakers by up to 226,000 units annually.
Akbayan Citizens' Action Party has asked the Philippine Supreme Court to stop the government from finalizing an economic agreement with Japan, which the party-list group alleges contains a provision that will allow this country to trade its hazardous and toxic waste products.
The Indian government said it is looking at the possibility of Free Trade Agreements with a host of nations including Japan, China and Korea, with a view to increase India's trade with the Asian countries.
Japan is revving up its drive toward free-trade agreements, or FTAs, with trading partners, largely fueled by an intensifying rivalry with China, a rapidly ascendant economic as well as military power.
The Japanese government has decided to resume stalled talks with Asean over signing a free-trade deal from next month, as other Asian nations rush to conclude such agreements.
