The idea of a U.S.-Japan bilateral trade deal isn’t getting much enthusiasm from senior Japanese lawmakers, unless it leads back to what Tokyo views as the more realistic and most beneficial result: the TPP.

The government announced Tuesday that it has appointed a deputy foreign minister as chief negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact, with an eye to bringing the deal into force without the United States.

The Japanese government is looking to implement the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement among 11 remaining signatories after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the sweeping treaty earlier this year.

The ambitious Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade pact that seemed dead in the water after the United States’ withdrawal could get a second wind, with Japan prepared to take the lead in an 11-country agreement sans the US.

Vietnam’s leather and footwear industry will maintain its strong growth even if the TPP does not materialize, the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso) has said.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a trade and investment agreement under negotiation by 12 countries in the Pacific Rim. This report is made by the US Department of Agriculture to assess this partnership's potential impacts on the region's agriculture in 2025.What Is the Issue?

New leaks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership reveal Australia could be signing up to provisions that bolster the power of pharmaceutical companies and weaken our safeguards, writes Deborah Gleeson.Last night, WikiLeaks released a close-to-final draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership's (TPP) annex on pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

Wikileaks (wikileak.org) revealed draft text of the Investment Chapter in the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement on March 25th . The TPP Investment Chapter is dated 20 January 2015.Download draft text released here:

TOKYO (AP) — A deal between Japan and the U.S. needed to move ahead with a Pacific Rim trade pact is possible by this spring, a top Japanese trade negotiator said Tuesday.Top negotiators for the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership meet in Hawaii next week. Wendy Cutler, acting deputy U.S. trade representative, will visit Japan for talks beginning Thursday on the politically sensitive issue of dismantling protections for Japan's farm products and for U.S. autos and auto parts.

Japan’s new Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Yoshimasa Hayashi, who previously served in the position in 2012–14, was a logical choice to take over from his disgraced predecessor Koya Nishikawa. He arrived at the Prime Minister’s Office (Kantei) only five minutes after Nishikawa left, and was apparently selected because he was ‘the only one that could immediately do the job’.