Bilateral: Work closely with JUBC and US and Japanese governments to secure upgraded bilateral economic dialogue and regulatory review process that leads to concrete progress on specific regulatory and standards issues
Regional Integration and APEC: Coordination with Japanese private sector and Japanese and US governments on concrete measures in APEC that increase regional trade/investment liberalization, regulatory and standards harmonization.
Health Care Innovation: Further commitments and concrete steps by the Japanese and US governments on specific measures to improve pricing and reimbursement, product approval, R&D and IP policies and procedures. Postal Privatization: Government of Japan commitment to ensure that a level regulatory playing field and equal competitive conditions between private sector and Japan Post entities in insurance, banking, and express delivery are firmly established as privatization plans are revised.
Labor Policy: Using “solutions approach,” provide analysis and recommendations to GOJ on labor policies that can help increase domestic employment – i.e. given DPJ consideration of measures to ban temporary workers in manufacturing, need to explain that such measures will be counterproductive while outlining specific ways to make the Japanese labor system more flexible and competitive.
Energy & Environment: Work with JUBC and US/Japanese governments on technically valid and globally harmonized standards for measuring carbon footprints; improved and/or harmonized regulations in some specific technology areas (e.g. building/window efficiency; and support for initiatives that advance trade liberalization/facilitation and IP protection for environmental goods and services.
Taxation: Secure extension of Japan’s 7-year carry-forward period for Net Operating Losses to at least 20 years to be in line with other major developed economies, in a way that covers losses incurred during the recent financial crisis.
