Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting: Toward a Seamless Regional Economy

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting was held in Honolulu, the United States on November 12 and 13, with the attendance of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda from Japan. U.S. President Barack Obama chaired the Meeting, at which discussions were focused on “growth and job creation,” “regulatory reform and competitiveness,” and “energy efficiency and energy security,” and the Honolulu Declaration was agreed upon as a leaders’ declaration.

Concerning “growth and job creation,” Prime Minister Noda stated that he had decided to enter into consultations toward participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations with the countries concerned, and explained Japan’s analysis of and response to the global economy as well as Japan’s economic growth strategy. He also stated that Japan would play a leading role toward realizing a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). This was welcomed by a number of economies. In his keynote statement in the session on “energy efficiency and energy security,” Prime Minister Noda explained a) Japan’s energy-saving measures to achieve the world's highest energy efficiency, b) challenges Japan faces in energy policy, and c) future cooperation on energy in the Asia-Pacific region.

The APEC Economic Leaders’ agreed that each economy would work on common rules for promoting innovation without distorting trade, as well as on efforts to promote trade and investment in Environmental Goods for “green growth” in order to encourage the economic growth of the region as a whole. The economic leaders also reaffirmed the solid prospects for the Asia-Pacific region as the vanguard for global growth.