Japan's FTA Strategy and its Impilcations

Recently, the Japanese government has aggressively engaged in FTA negotiations focusing on TPP (Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership). Japan, the US and 10 TPP member countries concluded TPP negotiations on October 5th, which have been described as one of the most ambitious free trade initiatives ever. Regarding the recent progress of bilateral FTAs promoted by the Japanese government, the Japan-Australia FTA took effect in January 2015 and the Japan-Mongolia FTA was signed in February 2015. Moreover, the Japan-EU FTA, the CJK (China-Japan-Korea) FTA, and RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) have been under negotiations. Japan also has actively emphasized promoting TPP and the Japan-EU FTA with official papers such as the White Paper on International Economy and Trade, so that Japan could draw up new rules of the global economy to achieve sustainable economic growth. Additionally, the White paper proposed an emerging market strategy to encourage Japanese firms to enter overseas markets, especially the emerging countries. It appears that Japan intends to proceed with FTA talks regarding the emerging market strategy.Japan’s government aimed to raise Japan’s FTA coverage rate to 70% by 2018 through aggressively engaging in TPP, the Japan-EU FTA, etc. Korea’s FTA coverage rate has been superior to Japan’s FTA rate so far although Japan has begun to actively seek to catch up to Korea’s FTA rate. Thus, Japan’s challenge, through actions such as engaging in FTAs, could have significant impact on Korea’s economy.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government published “Japan’s Revitalization Strategy” as a New Growth Strategy in June 2013. The revitalization strategy consists of three action plans, one of which is the Strategy of Global Outreach. The Strategy of Global Outreach could be viewed as a practical strategy of Japan’s global trade and economic policies. Thus, it should be noted that Japan decid to make use of its global trade and economic policies, such as promoting FTAs, as a strategy for invigorating its economy. Why is Japan engaging in FTA talks? This paper examines Japan’s FTA status and strategy to understand its purpose as well as analyzes implications for the Korean economy