Upon Prime Minister Abe’s announcement that Japan would join the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the debate on the trade bloc’s effect on Kyushu has heated up. According to the government’s forecast, the agriculture sector will suffer ¥3 trillion in losses nationwide, so it appears that Kyushu, one of Japan’s breadbaskets, will not be able escape the impact of TPP. Local farmers have expressed concern that cheap imports will increase if tariffs are removed, especially since Kyushu accounts for nearly 20% of Japan’s agricultural output (¥1.62 trillion as of 2011). For instance, Miyazaki and Kagoshima are Japan’s biggest producers of beef and pork. The biggest projected hit will be to rice farmers, accounting for ¥1.1 trillion of the ¥3 trillion forecast, due to the 778% tariff on rice imports. Meanwhile, in the manufacturing sector, support for the pact is high since reduced tariffs on automobile exports to markets such as the United States and China would be a boon for local plants. A full 26.5% of goods produced by Kyushu’s manufacturers are exported, making for the highest proportion of exports by region in all of Japan. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Mar. 18.
Leaders of TPP member states and prospective member states at a TPP summit in 2010. Source.
