[CTC] Marantis named Acting USTR; Kirk stepping down tomorrow

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Rally staged in Tokyo to protest Japan’s entry into TPP talks
KYODO
The nation’s largest farm lobby and consumer groups linked to the  
sector staged a protest rally Tuesday in Tokyo ahead of Prime Minister  
Shinzo Abe’s expected announcement that Japan will join the Trans- 
Pacific Partnership free-trade negotiations.

Abe is expected to make the announcement at a press conference  
Thursday or Friday after his Liberal Democratic Party, many of whose  
members depend on the farm vote, presents its terms to his  
administration.

About 4,000 people took part in the rally, according to the Central  
Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA-Zenchu), which is part of the  
Japan Agriculture group.

The farm lobby, which was joined by seven other groups, including  
consumer cooperatives linked to the highly state-protected farm and  
fisheries sectors, has long opposed Japan’s joining the U.S.-led trade  
talks on grounds that the elimination of tariffs would damage the  
agriculture sector with an influx of cheap imported produce.

“Anxiety and anger are spreading around us because we have not  
received a sufficient explanation from the government,” Akira Banzai,  
head of the union, said in his opening address, calling the TPP “a  
drastic agreement that will change the way the nation deals with food.”

The union has been arguing against points in a Japan-U.S. joint  
statement issued in February after Abe met with U.S. President Barack  
Obama in Washington.

The points at issue referred to Tokyo and Washington confirming that  
“all goods would be subject to negotiation” and that “the final  
outcome will be determined during the negotiations.”

The union’s position is that if Abe’s government soon signals its  
participation in the negotiations, this would renege on the LDP’s  
campaign pledge for the December election.

The LDP had pledged to oppose joining the negotiations if abolishing  
tariffs without exception was to be a precondition.

While the farm and other groups step up their calls against the TPP  
talks, executives of an LDP panel met Tuesday and agreed to present  
their terms, which include measures to protect domestic farm products,  
when they hold a plenary session Wednesday evening.

The LDP, whose members are split over joining the TPP talks, is  
expected to leave the final decision up Abe.

The nation’s major industries have advocated joining the TPP talks at  
an early stage to ensure Japanese businesses can hold onto their  
competitive edge and to ensure that consumers, most of whom are urban,  
can benefit from the huge free-trade deal.



http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/13/national/rally-staged-in-tokyo-to-protest-japans-entry-into-tpp-talks/#.UT-kthwYJM8
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