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Why Did Japan Just Ratify The TPP? (businesstimes.com.sg)
The controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership can't go into effect without U.S. approval, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has acknowledged. Yet despite president-elect Trump's promise to withdraw from the agreement -- Friday Japan's parliament voted to approve it. An anonymous reader quotes the Business Times.
Was last Friday's vote simply a Quixotic tribute to a dying cause or -- as some are asking -- does Mr. Abe know something that others don't? They note that he is the only foreign leader to have met with the anointed heir to the U.S. presidency since the election result was announced. What went on in New York's Trump Tower during that "informal" meeting is unknown but some speculate that there may have been some equally informal -- but nonetheless significant -- dealmaking between the two men on the TPP. This seems quite possible, analysts say, because the TPP is of great importance to Japan and to Mr. Abe's grand design for Japan to remain a pivotal Asia-Pacific power.
The EFF has decried "the intense push to ram Internet issues into international law through the TPP," and complained Friday that Japan's newly-passed law "includes the extension of Japan's copyright term from 50 to 70 years after the death of the author, which makes today a very sad day for Japan's public domain."
And in addition, "There remains a risk that other TPP countries such as Singapore -- and even countries that weren't part of the original deal, such as Taiwan -- will soon also bring their domestic legislation into conformity with the requirements of this dead agreement."
The EFF has decried "the intense push to ram Internet issues into international law through the TPP," and complained Friday that Japan's newly-passed law "includes the extension of Japan's copyright term from 50 to 70 years after the death of the author, which makes today a very sad day for Japan's public domain."
And in addition, "There remains a risk that other TPP countries such as Singapore -- and even countries that weren't part of the original deal, such as Taiwan -- will soon also bring their domestic legislation into conformity with the requirements of this dead agreement."
It has nothing to do with international affairs, it has one main national goal : taking on the Agricultural Association tht has more money and power than the government. The Japanese Agricultural Association (JA) is a very powerfull association that distorts vast amounts of money from the Japanese farmers like Italian mobsters. Money that the government wants to have but it did not have any means to take on the JA. Until the TPP came around. Nobody here in Japan knows that the TPP is also about copyrights. As far as most people know, it's about agricultural goods and meat coming freely into the country without having all kinds of associations like JA being able to control that.
> Was last Friday's vote simply a Quixotic tribute to a dying cause or -- as some are asking -- does Mr. Abe know something that others don't?
I read something else in this part. Obama killed the TPP because Trump was against it and he couldn't pass it in the lame duck session, so he might as well deny others credit for killing the deal he & Hillary negotiated.
So I assume they're wondering if Abe either knows that Hillary has a non-zero chance or they think Trump could be persuaded to go for it.
Personally, whatever happens, I want this to die and stay dead.
Twelve countries are party to TPP. It only has to be ratified by six in order to become binding (on those six). As currently written, the US and Japan have to be among the six, but certainly the other 11, or some of them, could decide to put it into effect among themselves. TPP can exist without the US, if Japan is included. Heck, the US isn't party to a precursor of TPP, the Transpacific Economic Partnership Agreement.
Also, Trump could have a heart attack tomorrow - he may never become president. After all these years of negotiations, there's no reason for Japan to just drop it, based only on something someone said during a campaign; people say all kinds of things during campaigns. The US could even ratify TPP in 2020, after Trump leaves office. (At least I don't know if any time limit offhand.)
Taiwan isn't a country. The Republic of China (ROC) is a country, with Taiwan comprising the majority of its present territory.
Their flag is the ROC flag, their anthem is the ROC anthem, all their money says ROC, one of their two main political parties is the Kuomintang (i.e., the Nationalist party that fought the Communists in the Chinese Civil War), and their vehicle license plates say "Taiwan Province" on them. Only ultra-progressives in the Taiwan Independence movement actually consider "Taiwan", rather than the ROC, to be a country.
Although the average person in Taiwan has a very distinct "Taiwanese" identity (vs a Mainland Chinese identity), the country is still organized as the Republic of China. I think it's slowly shifting towards a "Taiwan" identity, but it's a very slow shift. A big part of that is probably because they want to maintain the status quo with China (the PRC). While I was living there, they changed the postage stamps to have TAIWAN printed on them instead of REPUBLIC OF CHINA. When I first noticed it, I pointed it out to a native friend of mine, and his reaction was, "Oh shoot! China is going to invade!" (i.e., most people in Taiwan don't consider screwing with the status quo with the PRC to be worth the risk.)
While he is cosing up to Russia, the latest insults towards China indicate that the latter will be designated as the new hostile nation #1, and the TPP is all about containing and insulating China.
The only reason I think that Japan would have done it, is if they think that the current coup to put Hillary in power by flooding the news with propaganda about "Russian hacking" will definitely succeed, which will result in Hillary signing the TTP into law. I would rather not actually see this happen, considering how horrible the law actually is (Personally I don't like the idea of it killing the Dojinshi industry, not to mention the US jobs and jobs of whatever other modern country joins in). This was more likely a leak than a hack, considering the suspicious death of Seth Rich.
Non sequitur: Your facts are uncoordinated.
China may be rapidly militarizing, but even at current rates it is decades away from being able to project force with the ability of the US and even some of the US's allies. China has exactly one aircraft carrier actually in the water at this point.
And while I think Trump is a farcical moron, all he's really doing with this latest saber rattling is making open that which has been US policy for decades. Yes, the US won't acknowledge the Taiwanese government, even as arms it to the teeth and makes it clear that any attempt by China to seize Taiwan would lead to retaliation. And really, with China's military as it is, it's dubious it could even take Taiwan, which is one of the most fortified chunks of rock on the planet.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
I've studied the TPP. That anyone who is in favor of American exceptionalism would be against it is mind-blowing. The U.S. and Japan basically bullied a bunch of smaller but up-and-coming countries to play by Westernized rules with a lot of exceptions that American and Japanese industries don't have to follow those same rules as swiftly (think agriculture, which is exempt from a lot of the TPP tariff reductions).
It basically extends U.S. corporate hegemony to China's doorstep. And before you go all "but but corporations are greedy!" you want American corporations to do well more than you want a Chinese state-sponsored company to do well.