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Japan

Japan has been notoriously late in joining the "bilaterals bandwagon". Until the latter part of the 1990s, the government hedged most of its bets on multilateral negotiations as a means of opening up foreign markets to Japanese corporate interests. However, Japan is increasingly suffering the loss of market shares that FTAs between other countries produce. Because of NAFTA, for example, Japan felt an acute need for its own treaty with Mexico so that its products benefit from the same tariff levels on the Mexican market as those coming in from the United States.

Until recently, Japan focused its bilateral negotiating agenda on a few countries around the Pacific. Major deals have been signed with Singapore (2002), Malaysia (2004), Mexico (2004), Philippines (2006), Indonesia (2007), Chile (2007), Thailand (2007), ASEAN as a whole (2008) and Vietnam (2008).

In mid-2006, Tokyo announced the start of FTA talks with Brunei and these were wrapped up in 2007. Japan’s deals with both Brunei and Indonesia are unique because they guarantee Tokyo access to oil and gas supplies.

In mid-2006, Japan went so far as proposing an overarching East Asian FTA encompassing Japan, ASEAN, India, China, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. ASEAN, among others, gave this idea a cool response.

In 2007, negotiations with India and Australia began, while somewhere down the pipeline, Colombia, China, Korea, Cambodia and Laos are also on the agenda.

Other countries are further targets creeping into Japan’s bilateral trade agenda:
 In early 2005, Japan started exploring possible talks with Switzerland, and the actual negotiations started in 2007.
  In 2006, spurred by concerns about access to energy resources, Japan moved towards kicking off talks for an FTA with Kuwait and other oil and gas-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
 There are also growing concerns about trade disadvantages for Japanese firms on a wider international scale, leading to FTA overtures towards Brazil, South Africa, New Zealand and even some wishful talk of a US-Japan deal.
  In late 2011, Japan showed interest in negotiating an FTA with Burma.
  In March 2012, there were indications of upcoming FTA talks with Mongolia and Canada.

The deals put forward by Japan are called "Economic Partnership Agreements" (EPAs), as the government holds that the term "free trade agreement" doesn’t capture the broader integration of economic and social policies that these treaties aim to achieve between the partner countries. But these EPAs are similar in coverage to a typical FTA from the US, New Zealand or the EU, if less ambitious on the content.

Domestic opposition to FTAs has crystallized around the announcement that the Japanese government intends to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP.) 2011 and 2012 have seen major demonstrations against the agreement were mounted by Japanese farmers, targeting the undermining of food security which agricultural liberalization under the proposed deal could bring about, especially in relation to rice. Zenroren (National Confederation of Trade Unions) also opposes the deal, with concerns about job losses, the opening up of the economy to US capital, and the erosion of living standards and working conditions. Many Japanese opponents view the TPP as being essentially a bilateral FTA with the US.

last update: May 2012
Photo: USDAgov / CC BY 2.0


Japan’s FTA strategy
Amid the advance of economic globalization, it is important to maintain and strengthen the free trade system. While the World Trade Organization continues to play an important role in this effort, free trade agreements (FTAs) offer a means of strengthening partnerships in areas not covered by the WTO and achieving liberalization beyond levels attainable under the WTO.
Japan: Red tape, resistance block free trade accords
Correctly tweaked, the numbers make perfect sense - free trade agreements (FTAs) between Japan and South-east Asian countries could provide a much-needed fillip to the moribund Japanese economy, and will in turn give a boost to a region in which Japan is already the biggest investor.
Japan’s policy to strengthen economic partnership
– Promoting Economic Partnership Agreements with closely related countries and regions
Japan Needs FTAs
Free trade agreements are now becoming the rule in world trade and Japan is at a big disadvantage if it does not take part in the game.
Japan-Korea FTA Study Group Report
In July 2002, Japan and Korea established a Joint Study Group, composed of representatives from the government, business and academia of both countries, to appraise the possibility of establishing the Japan-Korea Free Trade Agreement (JKFTA).
Japan aiming to expand scope of free trade agreements
The government has decided to expand the scope of its free trade agreement negotiations with several Asian countries, including South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia, aiming to conclude comprehensive economic partnership agreements (EPAs), government officials said Wednesday.
FTAs With Other Asian Nations
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday ordered his Cabinet ministers to work together to accelerate free-trade negotiations with other Asian nations.
FTA talks in cards with Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines - Japan
Japan will hold free-trade talks early next year with Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday.
Accurate Understanding of FTAs is Essential!
The 5th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico, ended without consensus, clouding the prospects for the ongoing negotiations over the Doha Development Agenda.
Japan-Malaysia EPA: Joint Study Group Report
During his visit to five ASEAN countries including Malaysia in January 2002, the Prime Minister of Japan, H.E. Mr. Junichiro Koizumi, proposed the “Initiative for Japan-ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Partnership”, to which the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, H.E. Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad gave his full support.

    Links


  • CUJ - FTA page
    Anti-FTA campaign page of Consumers Union of Japan
  • MOFA on Japan FTAs
    Ministry of Foreign Affairs webpage on Japan’s FTAs and EPAs
  • Nippon Keidanren
    Japan Business Federation, established in 2002. Website contains several policy papers and position statements on Japan’s FTA strategy.