Japan hopes moves toward economic integration in Asia involve U.S.+

TOKYO, Oct. 7 Kyodo -
Japan's senior vice trade minister Motohisa Ikeda on Thursday told a gathering
of business people from Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
that moves toward economic integration in Asia should be expanded to the
Asia-Pacific region, including the United States.
He also said that a U.S.-backed multilateral transpacific free trade agreement
can play a core role in seeking a ''high-quality economic partnership in the
Asia-Pacific region,'' underscoring Japan's interest in the Trans-Pacific
Partnership Agreement.
The TPP is an agreement originally between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and
Singapore that took effect in 2006. Negotiations to expand it are under way
with four new countries, including major agricultural exporters such as the
United States and Australia.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said that Japan will consider joining the
TPP, but the agreement, which basically requires members to eliminate all
tariffs to zero, is seen as quite a high bar for Japan, which has been
reluctant to open up its agricultural market.
Noting that regional economic integration is a key topic in the upcoming summit
of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Japan, the senior vice
minister of economy, trade and industry said, ''Building up on the discussions,
we would like to realize (a region-wide free trade zone called) a Free Trade
Area of the Asia-Pacific.''
The region-wide free trade zone, which is dubbed an FTAAP, is a vague vision
pursued by the 21-member APEC, which includes such economies as China, Peru,
Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States, and seven ASEAN members.
At the APEC summit meeting in November in Yokohama, APEC is expected to present
''possible pathways'' to achieve an FTAAP, while the TPP is seen as the
potential core framework toward such a move.
Various regional frameworks also exist in Asia, such as the East Asia Summit,
which consists of ASEAN countries, Japan, South Korea, China, and India,
Australia and New Zealand. The United States and Russia are also expected to
join the framework.
Meanwhile, during a keynote speech at the outset of the ASEAN-Japan Business
Meeting, Myanmar Ambassador to Japan Hla Myint, who is also chairman of the
Tokyo ASEAN Committee, referred to the need to step up cooperation between
Japan and ASEAN not only in economic terms, but also in social and cultural
sectors.
ASEAN is comprised of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
==Kyodo
2010-10-08 00:25:37


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