Only 38 per cent of Japanese want to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, according to a survey published by the newspaper Nikkei, showing a growing public distrust of free trade agreements.
The TPP is a proposed trade pact between Australia, the US, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Singapore, Brunei, Chile, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia and Mexico.
According to the survey conducted over the weekend by the newspaper and TV Tokyo, 35 per cent of respondents were against the controversial multilateral trade agreement, while 27 per cent said that they do not have a clear opinion.
In addition, 33 per cent of respondents expressed doubts as to whether the Parliament should ratify the agreement in this actual form.
The government of Japan under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has proposed to ratify the TPP before the end of the current parliamentary session, on November 30, in order to ensure that Japan is the first country to give its assent to the agreement.
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The rush to achieve the ratification reflects the current concern about the future of the agreement as both US presidential candidates have indicated their dissatisfaction with the current conditions of the agreement and its lack of transparency has been widely criticised.
