(Sankei: October 21, 2015 – p. 3)

 Next week the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will set up a TPP strategy headquarters in charge of compiling comprehensive domestic measures for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact. On Oct. 20 the LDP began making arrangements for appointing Policy Research Council Chairperson Tomomi Inada to head the new entity. In light of the government’s disclosure of the overall picture of tariff elimination, on which a broad agreement has been reached (in TPP talks), the TPP strategy headquarters will accelerate discussions on the matter and devise countermeasures before the end of November. Policy Research Council Executive Acting Chairman Ryu Shionoya will serve as deputy head of the headquarters, and Koya Nishikawa, advisor to the LDP’s committee on the TPP, will chair its meetings. For the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries, which will be affected by the TPP, the LDP will include expanding the scale of farming and improving breeding techniques of stock farming as measures for its concept of “offensive agriculture” from the perspective of ten years.

 On Oct. 20 several meetings to discuss measures for the TPP were held in the LDP. In these meetings, participants questioned the government side about the outlook until the TPP agreement comes into effect and the impact on exports and imports, and called for the presentation of documents on strategies of other TPP member countries.