“By approving [the TPP] in the parliament, Japan will demonstrate the world its strong will, and alongside with it I will keep talking with the United States about the significance of the TPP,” Abe told the House of Councillors, as quoted by the Kyodo news agency.
Abe stressed that the TPP rules should become an example of trade negotiations in the world.
In early September, Abe vowed to press the parliament into ratifying the agreement. On November 10, Japan's House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament, voted to ratify the TPP.
The TPP seeks to remove barriers to trade among its 12 signatories, which together account for 40 percent of the world's economy: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.
