Bringing the Party Back In: How the DPJ Diminished Prospects for Japanese Agricultural Trade Liberalization under the TPP

Changes to the institutional structure of trade policymaking are important to understanding why Japan remained largely on the sidelines of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP) negotiations in 2010-2012. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) embarked on a series of changes to policymaking institutions, which initially empowered the prime minister and cabinet at the expense of pro-agriculture backbenchers in the ruling party. However, the potential for a breakthrough on farm trade substantially diminished as the institutional reforms were reversed, allowing political supporters of domestic farm interests once more to assert their voice and influence in trade policymaking. Tracing the process of DPJ government decision-making on the TPP reveals that ‘bringing the party back in’ was a major factor in preventing Japan's formally joining the TPP negotiations, despite the strong pro-TPP sentiments of DPJ prime ministers, thus limiting prospects for agricultural trade liberalization.