Japan is going to adapt European Union automotive safety and environmental standards according to an article in Nikkei Shimbun this morning. Under the new rules to be negotiated under trade talks starting next week, manufacturer having cleared market entry tests in one market would (automatically) be granted access to the other.

The Financial Times report on how Abe’s vow to reflate the world’s third-largest economy through a mixture of stimulus and structural reform has reawakened interest in stocks among Japan’s retail investors, who are the main players in smaller IPOs. Account openings at the top seven online brokerages have more than doubled since November.

New York Times run this article on 16 March 2013, reporting on Prime Minister Abe's televised speech on 15 March calling for Japan to join negotiations joining the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP). Japan will seek to join negotiations for a free-trade pact with the United States and other Pacific nations, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday, giving heft to talks that could encompass two-fifths of the world economy but also adding a country with demands and reservations that some participants fear will delay an agreement.