Japan and ASEAN sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement; Australia, US, Japan to hold talks in Hawaii; Tokyo and Washington deny reviewing SOFA Agreement; PM Fukuda: Nuclear energy a ‘trump card’ in tackling global warming
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    • Japan signed a comprehensive free-trade agreement with ASEAN, the first time that Tokyo had signed such an agreement with a regional block. The agreement, known as “the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement” will come into force on the first day of the second month after Japan and at least a member country from ASEAN complete the domestic procedures, such as a parliamentary endorsement1.

    Japan Today reported that Australia, the United States and Japan would hold senior working-level talks in Hawaii on April 18 to discuss various regional security issues, enhance understanding and strengthen mutual cooperation in international peacekeeping missions. It was also pointed out that the meeting was a good opportunity for Japan to develop ties with Australia, given the recent pro-Chinese stand taken by the Australian government on various security issues2.

    Japan and the United States have meanwhile denied reviewing the Japan-US Status of Forces (SOFA) agreement in the wake of the arrest of a US Navy seaman on a murder charge. Earlier, the Democratic Party of Japan and two other opposition parties had handed over a petition to the government calling for a revision of the SOFA agreement. In that petition, the opposition parties had demanded to make it mandatory for the United States to hand over U.S. military personnel suspected of crimes. The Japanese Prime Minister has however denied such revisions and stressed that the current agreement would be improved “step by step and steadily3.”

    In other developments, the Japanese government proposed to form a new subcommittee under Prime Minister Fukuda to look after key global warming issues like the emissions trading system and environmental taxes, among other issues4. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, addressing a conference on nuclear energy, asserted that nuclear power was a ‘trump card’ in tackling global warming5.

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