With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet expected to approve a set of bills related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, the stage is set in the Diet for a debate on the controversial 12-nation deal.
Now, adding to the national political debate will be local economic projections on how the TPP will affect prefectural agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors.
In December, the central government projected adopting the TPP would mean a national decline of ¥130 billion to ¥210 billion on 33 items in these sectors. Since then, various local governments have done their own calculations to determine what the local post-TPP economic impact might be and how much financial assistance might be needed for local farmers, fishermen, and those in the pulp industry who lose out to cheaper foreign imports.
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