The Trans-Pacific Partnership and Japanese Politics

The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership is a Free Trade Agreement in negotiations between Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan. If negotiations succeed, the Trans-Pacific Partnership will be the largest free trade area in the world, dwarfing the EU. This paper examine's Japan's politically controversial decision to enter negotiations, as the agreement would hurt Japan's agricultural communities which have a disproportionately loud voice in Japanese Politics.