Japan approves TPP-11 ratification bills, hopes for nod from Diet this year

The government of Japan on Tuesday approved a slate of bills necessary for the ratification of the new Trans-Pacific Partnership, according to Japanese media reports. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet signed off on the bills and the government will present them in the current session of the Diet which ends on June 20, Kyodo News reports. Japan played an instrumental role in concluding negotiations for the TPP-11 after the U.S. withdrew from the TPP last January. The 11 countries...