Japan Post Reform Bill May Complicate Efforts For Japan To Join TPP

摘要

U.S. companies are objecting to a new Japan Post reform bill that is expected to pass through the Japanese Diet later this month, and observers this week warned that this issue has the potential to further complicate ongoing efforts by Japan to convince the U.S. to let it join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. The compromise bill, introduced in the Diet on March 30, rolls back the comprehensive privatization plans that were favored by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and includes several provisions that, according to U.S. industry groups, would make conditions of competition in Japan between Japan Post and private-sector firms more unfair.