TPP Protests In Tokyo: Lost In Translation?

Thousands of people protesting in Tokyo against the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) that is virtually unknown in the US, according to the Wall Street Journal blog?

One of the reasons it "gets no press" could be that the entire text of the negotiations is kept secret, and even elected legislators (that get to vote "yes" or "no" once the negotiations are finished, but have no access to the actual negotiation process) and others are kept in the dark about the details. Only corporations are allowed access, which of course is not OK.

We heard the same complaints against the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Free Trade Agreements (FTA) some 10-15 years ago, seems the people with hidden interests that want to change the rules for global trade have moved on to the TPP. If it gets no press, shouldn't journalists in the US (and editors) try a little harder? Most of us have of course lost any confidence in main stream media, but that blog post just takes the cake. Why should a major economic partnership agreement be flying under the radar? Hello??

With so much secrecy, it is not strange that in Japan, the entire project seems like a conspiracy.

I was glad to see so many people at the anti-TPP event today in Hibiya Park, I hope we made a difference, at least on this side of the Pacific Ocean.



Lost in Translation: Anti-TPP Campaign Befuddles Washington

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2012/04/25/lost-in-translation-anti-tpp-campaign-befuddles-washington/

By Peter Landers

Japan’s agricultural lobby has taken its campaign against a global free trade agreement to the U.S., buying a full-page advertisement in Tuesday’s Washington Post opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The ad is titled “Don’t let the TPP rob your future,” and features a picture of a padlocked factory on the back page of the newspaper’s front section.
For American readers, it must have seemed a strange message. The advertisement doesn’t say what the proposed free-trade agreement consists of or how it would “destroy jobs” for Americans. JRT asked a colleague who doesn’t cover Asia to review it. The reaction: “What is it about? I have no idea what it means.”
That captures the disconnect between the two countries over the issue. In Japan, TPP has become a household phrase, with newspapers, magazines and TV shows prominently featuring the pact. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has made Japan’s entry into the agreement a top priority, and is expected to discuss the matter when he meets American President Barack Obama in Washington next week. While advocates say the agreement would lift Japan’s economy overall, it would likely require further opening of Japan’s protected farm sectors — hence the advertising campaign.
In the U.S., however, the pact gets virtually no press, and is largely unknown.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War

Image
A unique three-day international conference is being held at Makuhari near Tokyo, a day after the 61st anniversary of the enforcement of Japan's Constitution. It is organized by nongovernmental groups, including Japan-based Peace Boat . Organizers said the meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss the significance of the constitutional article that endorses demilitarization and what people can do to promote its spirit, notes The Japan Times . While the constitution stipulates that Japan renounces war as a sovereign right and that it will not maintain land, sea and air forces, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been keen to make amendments. "The war in Iraq has shown that even the strongest, biggest army in the world can not keep peace in a single city. It proves that aggression never instates peace," Tatsuya Yoshioka, director of Peace Boat and a representative of the event's organizing committee, said during the opening remarks. "Article 9 is a treasu
Read more

マーティンの鵜の目鷹の目 -世界の消費者運動の旅から

Image
  My new book has been published! マーティン・フリッド (著)   世界中の消費者が同じ課題を抱え、悩み、たたかっている。スウェーデンに生まれ、ヨーロッパ、そして日本の消費者運動の現場を歩いてきた著者が、人びとの日常によりそいながら軽妙なユーモアを交えて食、環境、エネルギー、社会のあり方、政治、経済を考えます。   https://nishoren.net/new-information/14177 Consumers all over the world are facing similar problems, worries, and struggles. In this book, the author, who was born in Sweden and has walked the frontlines of consumer movements in Europe and Japan, con
Read more

Salvador Dali, Hiroshima and Okinawa

Image
Spanish artist Salvador Dali was deeply terrified by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , and his exact, detailed style was very much suited to show the horror of the A-bomb, which America tried to keep a secret by classifying photos and descriptions until the end of the occupation of Japan in 1952. The Bureau of Atomic Tourism has more details if you want to know more about the legacy of nuclear weapons in the U.S. Even today, do people understand the real horror of atomic bombs? If not, then, why not ? Dali's paintings are on display in Fukushima prefecture, where you can view Melancholy Atomic and Uranium Idyll and The Three Sphinxes of Bikini at the Morohashi Museum of Modern Art . Long YouTube video from the Nihon University (Nichidai) channel with an interview featuring Morohashi Eiji, the son of the founder of the unique museum, and scenes from the Morohashi Museum (29:20): #271美術館への誘い ダリの世界 Is there a hidden message in Dali's Bikini hydrogen bomb painting
Read more