It's time Japan stopped dreaming TPP

Negotiators from the 11 remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement held a meeting in Japan's hot-spring resort town of Hakone last week where they decided to push ahead with the agreement without any significant changes.

The two-day meeting shows some countries, especially Japan, are desperate to revive the TPP after US President Donald Trump pulled out of it in January. But, sooner or later, Japan will realize it has set out on mission impossible because without major revisions, the pact may remain good only on paper.

In its present state, the TPP agreement can come into force only after being ratified by at least six countries which together account for at least 85 percent of the bloc's GDP. Given that among the original members, the US alone accounts for more than 60 percent of the GDP, enforcing the TPP agreement without modifications is impossible.