Publication

The commentary discusses the economic policies of the Japanese executive elected in 2012. It focuses on structural reform and the most potent tool, in the author's argument, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He argues that Japan needs to be at the negotiation table no later than spring 2013 in order to shape the final agreement. Accordingly, Abe should take a strategic view in developing his political, economic and foreign policies. The TPP would allow Abe to pin the blame for structural reforms on external forces, it would allow it to shape rules that will govern international economic behavior in the twenty-first century and would bind it more closely to partners in the region.