<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><br class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="article-info" style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><span class="article-section" style="color: rgb(255, 128, 0); font-family: knowledge-medium, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.6em; text-transform: uppercase;"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/news/archive/ousivMolt" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(255, 128, 0); cursor: pointer;" class="">BUSINESS NEWS</a></span> <span class="divider" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-size: 1.4em; vertical-align: inherit; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 3px;">|</span> <span class="timestamp" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); display: inline-block; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.2em; vertical-align: inherit;">Fri Dec 9, 2016 | 12:51am EST</span></div><h1 class="article-headline" style="margin: 9px 0px 18px; font-size: 4em; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: knowledge-medium, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1em;">Japan ratifies TPP trade pact to fly the flag for free trade</h1><div class=""><span class="article-prime" style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 80px; font-size: 1.7em; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); padding: 0px;" class="">Japan on Friday ratified the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade pact aimed at linking a dozen Pacific Rim nations, hoping it will one day take effect despite President-elect Donald Trump's pledge that the United States will withdraw from it.</p></span><span id="midArticle_0" style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;" class=""></span><p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 80px; font-size: 1.7em; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; padding: 0px;" class="">The TPP, which aims to cut trade barriers in some of Asia's fastest-growing economies but does not include China, can not take effect without the United States. </p><span id="midArticle_1" style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;" class=""></span><p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 80px; font-size: 1.7em; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; padding: 0px;" class="">The deal, which has been five years in the making, requires ratification by at least six countries accounting for 85 percent of the combined gross domestic product of the member nations.</p><div class=""><p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 80px; font-size: 1.7em; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; padding: 0px;" class="">Given the sheer size of the American economy, the deal cannot go ahead without U.S. participation.</p><span id="midArticle_3" style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;" class=""></span><p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 80px; font-size: 1.7em; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; padding: 0px;" class="">It has not been ratified by the U.S. Senate and Trump last month promised to withdraw from it after he is inaugurated in January. Instead, he would replace it with bilaterally negotiated trade deals.</p><span id="midArticle_4" style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;" class=""></span><span style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;" class=""></span><span class="first-article-divide article-divide" style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"></span><p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 80px; font-size: 1.7em; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; padding: 0px;" class="">Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the TPP would be "meaningless without the United States".</p><span id="midArticle_5" style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;" class=""></span><p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 80px; font-size: 1.7em; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; padding: 0px;" class="">But by ratifying the deal in parliament on Friday, Japan is signaling it hopes the accord can be resuscitated when conditions are more favorable. </p><span id="midArticle_6" style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;" class=""></span><span style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;" class=""></span><span class="second-article-divide article-divide" style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"></span><p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 80px; font-size: 1.7em; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; padding: 0px;" class="">Government officials said the trade pact would essentially go into deep freeze but that they would not abandon hope of reviving it in future.</p><span id="midArticle_7" style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;" class=""></span><p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 80px; font-size: 1.7em; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; padding: 0px;" class="">Taro Kono, a senior lawmaker of Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said there was a chance that Trump would change his mind.</p><div class=""><p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 80px; font-size: 1.7em; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; padding: 0px;" class="">New Zealand Prime Minister John Key joked last month that it would be fine with him to rename the agreement Trump Pacific Partnership if that would convince the president-elect to get on board, media reported.</p><span id="midArticle_9" style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;" class=""></span><div style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 80px; font-size: 1.7em; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; padding: 0px;" class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><span id="midArticle_10" style="font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;" class=""></span><p style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 80px; font-size: 1.7em; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; padding: 0px;" class="">(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Yoshifumi Takemoto; Editing by Robert Birsel)</p></div></div><div class="teads-inread sm-screen" style="overflow: hidden; height: 359px; -webkit-transition: height 0s; transition: height 0s; box-sizing: content-box; font-family: knowledge-reg, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin: 15px auto; max-width: 550px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px !important; position: relative; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" class=""></div></div></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div></body></html>