On February 25, Chair of the DPJ General Research Committee on Economic Partnerships and Agricultural Revitalisation, Koichiro Gemba, released the following statement.

1.The TPP ministerial meeting was held from February 22 to 25 in Singapore.

2.On this occasion, negotiations have broken down, with agreement postponed, and without Japan being able to obtain sufficient flexibility from the United States and others.　We cannot deny the possibility that the TPP negotiations themselves may end up stalling.

3.It is reported that a further ministerial meeting will be convened in conjunction with the APEC meeting to be held in China in May. However, Japan has already signaled a willingness to play her trump card in the current meeting, and there is a danger that she will be at a disadvantage in future negotiations. The Democratic Party of Japan will continue to carry out strict checks to ensure that negotiations are being conducted in the national interest, by for example carrying out comparisons with the resolution which our party drafted and submitted to the Committees on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in both Houses of the Diet.

4.Moreover, the disclosure of information regarding negotiations to the Diet and the Japanese people remains inadequate, and we will continue to strongly urge for adequate information disclosure to take place as stipulated in the Diet resolution.