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2004/12/11(土) 00:49 |
| Speech by Issei KOGA; |
The 5th General Assembly of the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace
(AAPP)
November 17, 2004
Speech by Issei KOGA,
The Japanese De]egation
Mr. Chairperson, fellow parliamentarians:
Thank you for offering me the privilege of addressing this distinguished
gathering. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere
appreciation to National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain and the
others of the host country of Pakistan for their thorough preparations
to ensure the success of this General Assembly.
The period from the start of the 1990s when the bubble economy in Japan
collapsed until today is frequently referred to as Japan s "Lost Decade"
or now Japan's "Lost Decade and a Half." There have been budding expectations
recently that Japan will finally be able to emerge from its long economic
stagnation. Absence of a foreign economic strategy is considered to be one
of the factors behind the Lost Decade.
The 1990s saw market integration in the European Union, the formation of the
North American Free Trade Agreement, and the creation of a network of free
trade agreements that encompass the world. During those years, Japan was so
tied up with the disposal of nonperforming loans and other domestic issues
that it neglected its external economic strategy and ended up falling behind
this global trend.
At the beginning of the 1990s, the East Asian economy was developing favorably,
and the region did not discuss the need to create free trade agreements or
FTAs. After the Asian currency crisis of 1997 and the major changes to the
economic environment that ensued, however, the nations of the region experienced
a rising move toward self-protection, Ieading to a stampede to form FTAs.
Over 100 FTAS have already been formed throughout the world, with FTAS
between AAPP member states and non-member states numbering more than 40.
Japan, however, has only concluded FTAS With Singapore and Mexico. We will
start negotiations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN
at the beginning of next year at long last, and we have pledged to make
every effort to conclude negotiations within two years.
I am confident that the strengthening of economic partnerships and
interdependence through FTAS While ensuring the full multilateral
liberalization that the WTO desires and the formulation of and conformity
to high-1evel rules will further trade liberalization and economic
revitalization in the countries involved. It is true that difficult issues
remain, such as the reduction of tariffs on farm products, but I believe
FTAS must be used as levers to promote economic revitalization in the
good sense.
Best practice guidelines, the so-called model for FTAs, were designated
the focus of the Twelfth APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held in Chile
last month. Moreover, the Tenth ASEAN Summit that concluded in Laos yesterday
hammered out a strategy for the liberalization in principle of intraregional
markets in eleven specified fields, including agriculture and automobiles,
by the year 2010 and the complete elimination of intraregional tariffs by
2015. ASEAN is engaging in discussions with Japan, China, and Korea for the
full implementation of FTAS and is using this action plan as a means to
accelerate intraregional market integration and raise its competitiveness.
The Asia region is very diverse, encompassing Confucian countries, Islamic
areas, and socialist nations. For this reason, the region is complex politically
as well. If the economic network becomes closer-knit, however, communication
between the people of the various nations should broaden and lead to political
stability as well. The only way to achieve this is for each of us to do what
we can and steadily build up a record of achievements one by one. The strong
leadership of parliamentarians who have the conviction and strength to overcome
hurdles is of unsurpassed importance for this.
Thank you for your kind attention.
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