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🇰🇷 South Korea /Economy & Trade

Japan seeks to fill US trade vacuum with permanent CPTPP secretariat

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Japan plans to propose hosting a permanent secretariat for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership at a November ministerial meeting.
  • Tokyo wants to speed membership reviews and expand the pact as new countries seek to join, while the United States remains outside the agreement.
  • South Korea is also exploring membership, and Japan’s cooperation on the issue has been discussed with Seoul.

Japan is preparing to seek the permanent secretariat of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, positioning itself as the pact’s center of gravity while the United States steps back from multilateral trade.

The Japanese government plans to present its proposal at a ministerial meeting involving the 12 CPTPP members on Nov. 1, according to the Nikkei newspaper. The pact currently has no permanent secretariat. Its rotating chair country performs that role each year.

I will promote the expansion of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

— Sanae TakaichiThe Japanese prime minister expressed support for expanding the trade agreement during a lecture in Hanoi in May.

Tokyo says a permanent body would help it manage a growing list of membership applications. Japan wants to lead faster reviews and broaden the agreement’s reach. The CPTPP began after the United States withdrew from the original Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017 under President Donald Trump’s first administration. Japan then led the creation of the revised pact with 11 other countries. Britain joined in 2024, bringing membership to 12 countries whose combined economies account for about 14% of global GDP.

The CPTPP was also discussed, and we reaffirmed our intention to pursue it.

— Wi Sung-lacSouth Korea’s national security adviser described discussions about Seoul’s possible membership.

Costa Rica has effectively completed its accession negotiations, while Uruguay is moving through the process. Indonesia, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates are discussing membership. China applied in 2021 but has not entered negotiations. Any new member needs the consent of all existing members.

CPTPP members agreed in 2024 on the need for a permanent secretariat, and Japan has set aside funds in next year’s budget to support a bid. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has also called for the pact’s expansion. South Korea is considering joining, with the issue discussed during a January summit between Seoul and Tokyo. President Lee Jae-myung has said the resumption of Japanese seafood imports from Fukushima would be an important topic in securing Japan’s cooperation on South Korea’s application.

The issue of resuming seafood imports is also an important agenda item in obtaining Japan’s cooperation for CPTPP membership.

— Lee Jae-myungThe South Korean president linked Fukushima seafood imports to Japan’s cooperation on Seoul’s membership bid.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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