The advantages and challenges of Japanese membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership
The advantages and challenges of Japanese membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Summary/Abstract: Joining of Japan to the Trans-Pacific Partnership has attracted the attention and launched controversy in the Japanese and international community. The essence of the disagreement is a question whether the membership in this wide integration will provide more benefits or disadvantages to the highly developed, but also highly protected Japanese economy. The advantages of joining of Japan to the TPP have been identified using two basic quantitative tools: the real effective exchange rate, which suggests the potential export markets, relying on its purchasing power, and second, the coefficient of conformity to calculate structural adjustment between the Japanese export and the import of the suggested markets. The results of both analyses, like a previous analysis of other authors and institutions, show a great opportunity for Japanese industry. Some of the expected challenges for Japanese economy are also analysed, especially the danger of excessive opening of some of the most protected sectors of the Japanese economy and weak agriculture facing strong competition from other members. This paper shows the sidedness and simplification of both kinds of previous assessment about “great” perspective of Japanese industry, but also of the “collapse” of Japanese agriculture. Second, the same results of the research show that, in the light of the recent abandonment of Partnership by new American President Donald Trump, Japan found itself in an unenviable position. Further implementation of the Agreement can have only harmful consequences on the Japanese economy.

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