the background of FTA and the promotion of it in Japan (3)

   The reasons for Japan having taken a negative attitude toward FTA were (a)geographical circumstances, (b)a Japan-U.S. trade dispute, and (c)the difficulty of the liberalization of the agriculture in particular.

Kanrin Maru, Japan's first screw-driven steam warship, transported 1860s delegation to San Francisco.

c.                                             A Japan-U.S. Trade Dispute

Since the assumption of office of President Clinton in 1993, U.S.A. comes to insist on managed trade theory in relations with Japan, in discussion between 2 countries; in addition, by taking the unilateral sanction step, an attitude to solve a commerce item between Japan and the U.S.A. was outstanding. This attitude reached a peak at the time of Japan-U.S. car discussion in 1995. For such an American attitude, the Japanese M.I.T.I. particularly concerned proposes attitude to be going to solve things in WTO established in January, 1995, and was going to plan solution by bringing a dispute between U.S.A. into WTO. The Japan-U.S. car discussion was settled in June, 1995. Afterwards, by the review of the Japan-U.S. semiconductor discussion in 1996, the trade disputes between Japan and the U.S.A. decreased. However, the lingering sound of intense negotiations with U.S.A. was big, and thus, once the attitude of pro-WTO built, it was not easily faded away.

A concept vehicle by Lexus

If an own country cannot promote FTA, in consideration for standing on the character of the discrimination of the FTA in which a member country is in an advantageous situation in export side in comparison with the other countries, all it could do was to check the FTA promotion of other countries more or less by advocating WTO serious consideration. We can understand the behavior pattern of Japanese 90's over the FTA in context such as above.
  

Status of WTO negotiations:

  members (including dual-representation with the European Union)

  Draft Working Party Report or Factual Summary adopted

  Goods and/or Services offers submitted

  Memorandum on Foreign Trade Regime submitted

  observer, negotiations to start later or no Memorandum on FTR submitted

  frozen procedures or no negotiations in the last 3 years

  no official interaction with the WTO

According to ministries and government offices, perhaps, until the time when it was almost November, 1998, in the M.I.T.I. which experienced a Japan-U.S. trade dispute, negative attitude for the FTA was strong. For this reason, in Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, although it was negative in FTA potentially, it seemed that they did not need to make obvious decision about FTA in that situation.  

Sources

http://www.mofa.go.jp/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_%E2%80%93_United_States_relations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry_in_Japan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization