Japan and Taiwan negotiate economic agreement — Taipei Times

Japan and Taiwan are negotiating a comprehensive economic agreement that the sides could sign by the end of 2026. This was reported by Taipei Times, citing Nikkei Asia and two informed sources.

Modelled on the agreement with the United Kingdom

According to Nikkei Asia, Japan is discussing the agreement with the administration of Taiwanese President William Lai. It could be modelled on the Enhanced Trade Partnership arrangement that the United Kingdom and Taiwan concluded in 2023.

Such a format leaves room for concluding separate arrangements for specific regions or sectors in the future. One Nikkei Asia source said this could also reduce the political sensitivity of the arrangements and give Tokyo some protection from a negative reaction from Beijing.

Areas covered by the draft agreement

The draft agreement covers five areas: economic resilience and innovation, industrial cooperation in disaster risk reduction, digital trade, trade facilitation and sustainable development. Disaster risk reduction cooperation, in particular, could involve work on drones, mainly for responding to natural disasters.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Katsuya Yamamoto, director of the Strategy and Deterrence Program at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation think tank, noted that Japan has traditionally been slow to create broader economic frameworks with Taiwan. At the same time, he said economic security has become an important political priority, and both sides are interested in strengthening the resilience of critical supply chains, especially in advanced technologies and semiconductors.

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said he would welcome such an arrangement and described Taiwan's previous cooperation models with the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom as useful reference points. Taiwan's Office of Trade Negotiations did not comment on the Nikkei Asia report, but stressed that strengthening economic ties with Japan has long been a government priority.

According to the office, over the past year the sides held the Taiwan-Japan Economic and Trade Conference, discussions on cooperation in third-country markets, and two meetings of the Taiwan-Japan Economic Partnership Committee. Taiwan and Japan have already signed nearly 100 cooperation agreements and memorandums.