Balancing the Win-Sets: Agricultural Lobby and Japan’s Accession to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

Due to strong connections with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the agricultural lobby constituted a considerable obstacle in liberalization of trade by Japan. Nevertheless, in the last years, its influence on governmental policy has been waning. Referring to the theory of two-level games, the article analyzes the discourse on accession to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement to examine the weakening dependence of Japanese politicians on support from the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives. It is argued that the Japanese government managed to sign both the TPP Agreement in 2016 and its successor, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2018, thanks to the institutional strength and negotiation strategy of the Abe administration.

ROLNICZE LOBBY A AKCESJA JAPONII DO POROZUMIENIA TRANSPACYFICZNEGO

Ze względu na silne powiązania z Partią Liberalno- Demokratyczną i Partią Demokratyczną lobby rolnicze stanowiło istotną przeszkodę w liberalizacji handlu przez Japonię. Niemniej jednak w ostatnich latach jego wpływ na politykę rządu osłabł. Nawiązując do teorii gier dwupoziomowych (theory of two-level games), w artykule dokonano analizy dyskursu dotyczącego przystąpienia do Partnerstwa Transpacyficznego (TPP) pod kątem słabnącej zależności japońskich polityków od wsparcia ze strony Centralnego Związku Spółdzielni Rolniczych. Stwierdzono, że rządowi Japonii udało się podpisać zarówno umowę o TPP w 2016 roku, jak i jej kontynuację, Kompleksową i progresywną umowę o partnerstwie transpacyficznym w 2018 roku, dzięki sile instytucjonalnej i strategii negocjacyjnej rządu premiera Abe Shinzō.

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