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.

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