TOKYO -- Japan wants to convince 10 other Pacific Rim countries to enter into the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal without the U.S., Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso said on Thursday.
In a reversal of earlier reticence about a TPP minus the U.S., Japan now intends to be a ringleader in getting Australia, Canada, Mexico and seven other countries to swiftly agree to such an arrangement, perhaps by the end of the year.
