Japanese lawmakers ratified the embattled Trans-Pacific Partnership last week as the country's leaders consider how to move forward in the wake of Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the vote by the upper house of Japan's parliament — which followed approval by the lower house — was largely symbolic since Trump vowed to pull out of sweeping trade pact.
The Obama administration and bipartisan supporters argued that the deal between the U.S., Japan and 10 other Pacific Rim nations would benefit U.S. companies that ship goods abroad — particularly to Asia, a vital and growing trade corridor.
Critics of TPP and other free trade deals, however, suggested that it would increase the power of multinational corporations and undercut U.S. workers.
Trump, in particular, made criticism of TPP a focal point of his campaign, and the White House and congressional leaders said last month that ratification of the agreement would not be taken up during the lame duck session before Trump takes office.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who met with Trump shortly after the election, said he still hopes to convince the president-elect to support the deal, but the Journal suggested that Japan has three realistic options for its trade policy.
Officials could move forward on the agreement without the U.S., pursue a stand-alone pact with the U.S. or work toward agreements with other nations — particularly the European Union, which will likely see its own trade pact with the U.S. scuttled by Trump's election.
Analysts told the paper that the country would likely evaluate all three options; although Japan appears hesitant to engage in talks with the U.S. alone, observers suggested that the country's hand could be forced by the existing free trade pact between the U.S. and neighboring South Korea.
Abe, meanwhile, noted that the Japan's declining population will force producers in the county to look outside its borders to sustain growth.