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Japan

Japan, US business leaders seek far-reaching bilateral pact
14-Nov-2006 Japan Times
Business councils from both countries continue to envision an economic partnership agreement as an "FTA-plus" pact.
DFA official: JPEPA not well-negotiated
10-Nov-2006 Daily Tribune
A senior Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official yesterday admitted that the Philippines may not have considered its national interest during the negotiations of the controversial free trade agreement with Japan signed last September.
RI wants ’win-win’ partnership with Japan, says minister
10-Nov-2006 Jakarta Post
Indonesia is hoping for a "mutually beneficial" spirit in the economic partnership agreement (EPA) it plans to sign with Japan during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s visit later this month to Tokyo, and will seek compensation for the economic imbalances that arise from the deal.
Fair Trade Statement on JPEPA, October 2006
8-Nov-2006 Fair Trade Alliance (FairTrade-Philippines)
The Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), signed on the sidelines of the Helsinki’s ASEAN-Europe Meeting (ASEM) held in September this year, sidelines the development needs of the Philippines and further enhances the imbalances in the economic relations between the two countries.
FairTrade-Philippines’ Statement on RP-US Agreement
8-Nov-2006 Fair Trade Alliance (FairTrade-Philippines)
After concluding the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), the government appears to be pursuing a similar bilateral free trade agreement (BFTA) with the United States. But like in the JPEPA, the RP-US trade talks are shrouded in secrecy.
Another JPEPA deception
7-Nov-2006
JPEPA’s promise of opening up Japanese borders to Filipino professionals may not exactly be true and Filipino nurses and health workers delighted over Malacañang pronouncements may have celebrated too early.
Alliance forged vs RP-Japan trade pact
6-Nov-2006 INQ7
From militants to high society matrons, citizens’ groups have embarked on a joint effort to fight the ratification of a controversial Philippine-Japan economic agreement they fear would turn the country into a “garbage republic” for Japan’s toxic and hazardous waste.
Militants to take fight vs trade pact to Japan
6-Nov-2006 INQ7
The militant leftist group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) is bringing the struggle against the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) right to the heart of that North Asian country—the Diet—to ask its members to reject the onerous trade pact.
Fair Trade statement on JPEPA
6-Nov-2006 Fair Trade Alliance
We, at the Fair Trade Alliance (FTA), bewail the lack of transparency in the way the executive branch of the Philippine government is crafting the JPEPA.
US wants APEC-wide free trade pact: report
5-Nov-2006 Khaleej Times
The United States has sounded out its Asian and Pacific partners on the possibility of creating a regional free trade agreement as a ‘middle- and long-term’ objective, a press report said on Sunday.
KMP threatens boycott of Japanese products: Farmers’ group urges Japan not to push through with JPEPA
5-Nov-2006 Business Mirror
The Japanese government will send its big commercial fishing vessels to the Philippines’ most productive fishing grounds in search of yellowfin tuna and skip jack instead of importing it directly from the Philippines under the controversial trade pact between the two countries.
Panelists want eight more FTAs, no farm snags
4-Nov-2006 Japan Times
Four private-sector members of Japan’s key governmental economic panel insist that Tokyo should triple the number of its FTA partners in two years.
JPEPA will allow Japan to exploit RP’s tuna resources—group
3-Nov-2006 PDI
A militant coalition of fishermen groups protested the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) as it will allow Japanese transnational fishing companies to corner the country’s tuna resources.
Japan to prioritize FTA negotiations with ASEAN
3-Nov-2006 VNA
Japanese cabinet ministers agreed on Thursday to accelerate negotiations on bilateral free trade agreements (FTA), placing top priority on FTA talks with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Japan to accelerate FTA talks with GCC, East Asia
3-Nov-2006 KUNA
Japan will revitalize its efforts to conclude free trade agreements (FTAs) and investment accords with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), East Asia and India, the top government spokesman said Thursday.
China willing to have FTA discussion with Japan
3-Nov-2006 China Daily
China is willing to discuss with Japan the establishment of free trade area (FTA), said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao on Thursday.
RP stands to lose P9b a year in tariff revenues under JPEPA
2-Nov-2006 Bulatlat
The Philippines stands to lose more than P9 billion annually in tariff revenues under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). Meanwhile, the gains to Philippine exports that government economic managers claim will happen under JPEPA are similarly overstated. Some 80% of Philippine exports to Japan already enter tariff-free and will not be affected by the free trade pact.
Int’l group urges Senate to reject RP-Japan trade pact
31-Oct-2006 INQ7.net
Saying Japan’s motives were "highly suspect," an international monitoring group urged the Philippine Senate on Tuesday to reject a controversial economic deal with Japan unless toxic wastes were removed from the list of products that could be brought into the Philippines.
Keidanren to call for economic agreement with US
30-Oct-2006 Japan Times
The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) is ready to propose as early as next month that Japan and the United States sign an economic partnership agreement to abolish tariffs and boost free investment, sources said Saturday. It will be the first time the country’s most powerful business lobby has proposed a bilateral EPA with the US.
RP sponsors Asean for Jpepa-like deal
30-Oct-2006 Daily Tribune
As a bilateral agreement between Japan and Philippines on free trade has been submitted for close scrutiny by Congress over alleged provisions that would allow the dumping of toxic wastes in the country, Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila is now negotiating in behalf of the entire Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) for a similar trade liberalization deal.