Press Releases

1. On November 10 (same day local time), an agreement at the ministerial level on the TPP negotiations among 11 countries was confirmed at the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Ministerial Meeting held in Da Nang, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Since the TPP Ministerial Meeting in May 2017, Japan has been proactively leading the process for bringing the TPP into force promptly, including hosting senior officials’ meetings on three occasions. Japan welcomes this achievement.

2. This agreement at the ministerial level is expected to serve as a foundation for building a broader free trade area in the Asia-Pacific region, and to provide the momentum to push forward other economic partnership negotiations that Japan is pursuing.

3. Japan intends to continue cooperating closely with the other participating countries, and to aim for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership to be signed and brought into force at an early date.

4. Furthermore, this agreement has substantial strategic significance because it will maintain the high-level content of the TPP Agreement while building a free and fair economic order for sharing prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region, where there has been remarkable growth, as well as create the foundation for further expanding that order. I am convinced that it will also contribute to the peace and stability of Japan and the Asia-Pacific region.