Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga insisted over the weekend that returning to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement is in the best interests of both Japan and the US. The comments came in before meeting of Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer for bilateral trade later this month. And that’s a clear indication that Japan is not interested in bilateral trade deal that the US is keen on pursuing. Suga added that “Japan is not going to do anything with any country that harms the national interest.” And, “with FTA negotiations too, we’ll handle them in that way.”
Finance Minister Taro Aso also said that “inward-looking policies would benefit no country.” And added that “excessive current account imbalances should be resolved through multilateral, not bilateral, framework. ” Also, “the matter should be dealt with through macroeconomic policy and a structural reform by rebalancing savings and investments, instead of imposing tariffs.”
