Japan will join the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda officially announced Friday night, a day after he delayed making an declaration on the country's stance on the free-trade initiative.
"We decided to join negotiations with member states over the TPP," Noda said at a news conference after meeting with his Cabinet members. "Japan should tap into the growing power of the Asia-Pacific region to hand down to future generations the affluence our country has built up as a trading nation."
Noda said he understands there are many domestic concerns over participating in the initiative, and promised he will protect Japanese agriculture.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.