Japan to send state minister to TPP signing
Japan's government plans to send a state minister to the signing ceremony of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade pact next week.
This follows the resignation of Economic Revitalization Minister Akira Amari on Thursday amid allegations of mishandling funds. He had been Japan's chief negotiator for the TPP deal.
The government is now considering sending a second-highest ranking ministry official. Candidates include State Minister of Cabinet Office Shuichi Takatori, who has been in charge of TPP issues under Amari.
The person who is chosen will attend a ministerial meeting ahead of the signing.
The government is expected to make a decision as early as Friday.
It originally planned to send Amari to the signing scheduled for next Thursday in New Zealand.
Government officials won't send Amari's successor, Nobuteru Ishihara, fearing his dispatch would affect Diet deliberations on the fiscal 2016 budget bill.