Two-level game analysis of Japan in the TPP negotiations
| Author | Tomohito Shinoda |
| Published date | 01 December 2020 |
| Date | 01 December 2020 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/2057891119865025 |
| Subject Matter | Research articles |
Research article
Two-level game analysis
of Japan in the TPP
negotiations
Tomohito Shinoda
Kokusai Daigaku, Philippines
Abstract
Starting his second term as Japanese prime minister in late 2012, Shinzo Abe regarded Japan’s
participation in TPP negotiations as one of the top priority foreign policy issues. Abe successfully
acquired a concession from President Barack Obama in order to enter the TPP negotiations
without prior commitment to the total elimination of tariffs. After entry into the negotiations,
Japan found a way to offer a tariff elimination on the politically sensitive agricultural products.
Although the Japanese negotiation team was a latecomer in the TPP negotiation, its members
played an instrumental role in reaching an agreement by helping other negotiating partners in the
process. In addition, other factors including Japan-Australia FTA, the break-up of the Japan-US
cabinet level meeting, and the Chinese initiative in AIIB motivated the American negotiators to
reach an agreement. Japan’s role became even more important with the US withdrawal from the
agreement, eventually contributing to a successful conclusion of the TPP agreement among
11 countries. Employing a two-level game framework, this study examines how Japan reached
an important agreement with the United States in the original TPP negotiations, and then, after
the American withdrawal, with other countries in the TPP 11 negotiations.
Keywords
Asia pacific, Japan, trade, trans-pacific partnership, two-level game
Introduction
As a result of the landslide victory of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the December 2012
general election, Shinzo Abe became the Japanese prime minister for the second time. In his policy
speech on January 22, 2013, Abe outlined the policies that the LDP members had nurtured over the
past three years when acting as an opposition party. On the foreign policy front, Abe promised to
Corresponding author:
Tomohito Shinoda, International University of Japan, 777 Kokusaicho, Minami Uonuma, Niigata 949-7248 Japan.
Email: tshinoda@iuj.ac.jp
Asian Journal of Comparative Politics
2020, Vol. 5(4) 337–350
ªThe Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/2057891119865025
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