Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who held his first talks with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on Feb. 22, said after the meeting that he got assurances that Japan would not have to promise to remove all tariffs as a prerequisite to joining talks for the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade zone. But Japan has not received a clear assurance that it can continue to retain high tariffs on such sensitive agricultural products as rice. If Japan takes part in the TPP talks, it will have to engage in tough negotiations. The TPP could greatly affect not only the domestic agricultural industry but the finance and insurance sectors as well as medical services. A big question is whether Japan is fully prepared to conduct tough negotiations to protect national interests, including those that make up the social policy fabric such as the public health insurance system, which Japan has painstakingly established over many decades. The will and ability of the government and its negotiators will be severely tested.
Although the two leaders' talks included security matters such as North Korea's recent nuclear test and China's aggressive attitude in its dispute with Japan over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, the focal point was Mr. Abe's domestic political agenda: clearing the way for Japan's participation in the TPP talks. Facing opposition from within his Liberal Democratic Party — especially from lawmakers representing agricultural communities — to Japan's entry into the TPP, Mr. Abe wanted confirmation from Mr. Obama that there would be exceptions to the TPP's principle of eliminating all the tariffs of the participating member countries.
In the campaign for the Dec. 16 Lower House election, which brought the LDP back to power, the party said in its pledge that as long as "abolition of tariffs without any sanctuaries" is the prerequisite for joining the TPP talks, Japan will not take part in them. Mr. Abe himself said this during the election campaign. After the meeting with President Obama, Mr. Abe said that it became clear that such tariff abolition is not a prerequisite and declared that he would like to make up his mind about Japan's participation in the TPP talks at an early date. But the joint statement on the TPP issued by Japan and the United States after the two leaders' meeting is ambiguous, meaning that Japan and the U.S. can interpret it in a manner that is convenient to each. If Mr. Abe proceeds with his plan to have Japan join the TPP talks, the possibility cannot be ruled out that it will cause great problems for the nation.