Japan must act quickly to change economic policies and make its industries and farmers more competitive, or China's economic strength will lead to a further decline in the importance of the world's second-largest economy, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said.
Zoellick, a frequent George W. Bush administration critic of Japan, said the country's economy has been in the "doldrums" for more than a decade, and it risks being marginalized.
"Japan's economy is in bad trouble, and it needs structural reforms," he said. "Agriculture's symptomatic of that: It's 2 percent of their GDP, it's 1.8 percent of their population, yet they pour bunches of resources into it. If they don't get a more efficient economy, the Chinese are going to eat their lunch."
Japan's economy grew 0.8 percent in the third quarter of last year, seasonally adjusted, after a second-quarter gain of 0.9 percent. That followed no gain in the first quarter of last year and three quarters of decline in 2001.
Since 1992, Japan's economy has grown on average 1.1 percent per year, about a third that of the US over the same period.
Over the same period, China's economy has grown an average of almost 8 percent per year, and its exports have increased 30-fold.
Zoellick, who was meeting yesterday for the first time with new Japanese Agriculture Minister Tadamori Oshima, said the country should make its industries more competitive.
He said the new round of global market-opening talks under way at the WTO offered a perfect opportunity for the country's officials to change the way they do things.
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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