Kiroku Hanai on Consolidation of US-Japanese Economic Partnership
If Japan intends to preserve its status in world trade, it must negotiate an economic partnership agreement with its biggest trading partner, the US, warns journalist Kiroku Hanai. Japan already lags behind South Korea and China in completing bilateral trade agreements and has recently shied away from free trade because of its weak agricultural sector, preferring instead multilateral negotiations within the WTO. An economic partnership integrating American and Japanese economies could lead to a more balanced relationship with the US, a relationship which is currently strained due to American dominance in defense affairs.
