TOKYO -- The reworked Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement moved a little closer to enactment after a nod from Japan's parliament Friday, a boost to multilateralism as a counterweight to the increasingly self-interested U.S. and China.
Japan's lower house approved a bill to ratify the Pacific Rim free trade deal, making it all but certain to pass before the current parliamentary session ends next month. Once the approval process is complete, Japan will become the second of the 11 TPP member countries to ratify the agreement, after Mexico.
