Japan will join the Indo–Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) proposed by President Joe Biden’s administration to push back against China’s growing economic influence in the region, a government official said May 18.
“We welcome the IPEF as an embodiment of active commitment by the United States to the Indo–Pacific region and thus we are positively considering our participation,” chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said, according to Kyodo News.
But that does not mean Japan will stop pursuing Washington’s return to the Trans–Pacific Partnership (TPP), which former U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned in 2017, Matsuno said.
“We will continue to call for the United States to return to the TPP at the summit and other levels,” he remarked….