Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, fourth from right, joins other leaders at a November 2019 meeting of nations negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). (Pool)
After lengthy negotiations, 15 nations, including Japan, China and South Korea, in November 2020 agreed on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is effectively a mega-free trade agreement (FTA) that covers most of Asia.
Naoko Munakata, adviser to Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute Inc. who was closely involved in negotiations for Japan’s first FTA, with Singapore, as well as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade arrangement, talked about the benefits and limitations of the RCEP.
Munakata, a former commissioner of the Japan Patent Office, also addressed concerns on how to push forward talks to create rules governing the digital economy. She said Japan could play a key role in spreading digital rules around the world that protect democracy.