Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, sixth from left, appears on stage in January 2019 at a Tokyo hotel with the trade ministers of 11 nations involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade arrangement negotiations. (Pool)
While various free trade agreements (FTA) have been struck in Asia, no bilateral deals have been reached between Japan and China or between Japan and the South Korea.
With Japan and 14 other countries having agreed to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a major question is if Japan, China and South Korea can overcome their political differences to move forward on economic cooperation.
Naoko Munakata, who was closely involved in the negotiations that led to Japan’s first FTA with Singapore, as well as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade arrangement, was asked about the significance of the FTAs.
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.
Русский
Tokyo, Dec. 10 (Jiji Press) Machine tool orders received by Japanese makers in November rose 8.0 pct from a year before to 88.2 billion yen, industry data have shown.
Orders increased for the first time in two years and two months, since they logged a 2.9 pct rise in September 2018, according to preliminary data released by the Japan Machine Tool Builders’ Association on Wednesday.
While the level of orders remains low, they grew year on year thanks to a recovery of capital investment in countries such as China, which apparently overcame the impacts of the coronavirus epidemic, association officials said.
Orders from abroad jumped 22.5 pct to 61.6 billion yen, while domestic orders dropped 15.2 pct to 26.5 billion yen.