ニュース 2010/11/04 DPJ finalises TPP proposal On November 4, the DPJ Project Team for Considering a Response to APEC/EPA/FTA held a press conference at party headquarters to announce the party proposal for furthering economic partnerships. First, Deputy Policy Research Policy Committee Chair Koriki Jojima commented on the efforts that had been made to finalize the party’s proposal for presentation to the government. He looked back on the process, saying, “We met to discuss this issue on sixteen occasions, and the debate was both passionate and wide-ranging.” Jojima went on to explain, “Just as was the case when rice was an issue in the 1986 GATT Uruguay Round, this matter is one that will shape the future of Japan. I think that it is truly significant that, despite the short amount of time available, both those who feel cautious and those who are actively in favour of this issue were able to engage in vigorous debate and we could finalise our proposal as a party.” Jojima also reported that he had handed the party’s proposal to Policy Research Committee Chair and Minister of State for National Policy Koichiro Gemba that same day, and that it was now down to the government to draft a response to the issue. Following this, the Chair of the Project Team, Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi explained the process of thorough debate that had led to the final proposal, saying, “We held many hearings to listen to the opinions of specialists and academics both in favour and against [the TPP].” Regarding the actual proposal itself, Yamaguchi said, “The issue of the TPP forms the centre [of the proposal], and we have sorted [our response] into three steps.” He announced that these are: (1) Gathering information and determining whether or not to participate, (2) Engaging in serious negotiations in order to finalise conditions for participation, (3) Ratification by the Diet. Yamaguchi expressed the opinion that “In his policy speech of October 1, Prime Minister Kan said that he would consider participation in the TPP, and in that context, our Project Team’s making a proposal to “start discussions [toward this end]” has great significance.” With regard to future engagement in this issue, Yamaguchi said, “The government has agreed to respect our proposal when debating the direction of policy on economic partnerships.”