日本承诺进行财政改革，将参与TPP谈判

　　（11月13日，华尔街日报）

　　[原文摘要]：11月13日，日本首相野田佳彦在亚太经合组织峰会上承诺，为防止欧洲债务危机爆发后市场对全球信贷状况的担忧并波及亚洲，日本将进行财政改革。野田佳彦在此次会议上还表达了日本参与泛太平洋战略经济伙伴关系协定(TPP)谈判的意愿。

　　[原文]：

　　HONOLULU--Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told a ministerial meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on Friday about Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's announcement that Japan would join multilateral talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement， the first direct statement of this policy in the international arena.

　　Gemba made the announcement at the Friday meeting， which took place several hours after Noda announced Japan's decision "to start talks with countries concerned toward participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations."

　　Participants in the ministerial meeting included representatives from all nine nations currently involved in the TPP talks， and Gemba's statement represents an international commitment， Japanese officials said.

　　The two-day APEC ministerial meeting was held through Friday， with foreign and trade ministers from the forum's 21 member economies taking part. Also participating from Japan was Economy， Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano， who likewise explained Noda's decision to take part in negotiations regarding the U.S.-backed Pacific Rim economic partnership framework.

　　APEC has been pursuing regional economic integration under the banner of realizing a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).

　　The FTAAP initiative envisions freer trade through the abolition of tariffs on industrial and farm products， and greater fluidity of people and investment in the region.

　　Japan's participation in the TPP talks is contingent on agreement by all nine countries already taking part， including the United States and Australia， according to the Japanese officials.

　　Gemba also said Japan intends to help realize the FTAAP through such regional undertakings as the ASEAN plus Three and ASEAN plus Six frameworks， in addition to the TPP negotiations. Gemba's statement was interpreted as indicating Japan's consideration for countries that have not taken part in the TPP talks， such as South Korea and China.

　　The ASEAN plus Three framework groups Japan， China and South Korea and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations， while the ASEAN plus Six framework adds Australia， India and New Zealand to the 13 countries.

　　In a press conference Friday， U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington is glad the TPP negotiations have been "moving quite well in the right direction."

　　"We are looking to encourage the lowering and elimination of barriers to trade and investment， both at the borders and behind borders， and we are continuing to make progress there."