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This paper aims to investigate the dynamic changes in comparative advantage of the ASEAN, China, Republic of Korea and Japan (commonly abbreviated as the ASEAN+3). By applying statistical and econometric methods on Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) index, this paper concludes that there have been changes in the patterns of comparative advantage in the ASEAN+3. The increases in overall comparative advantage are encouraged by the higher increases in comparative advantage of groups of products that had no or lower comparative advantage in the past. The comparative advantage pattern of the ASEAN is becoming similar with that of Japan. However, there is no stationary level of similarity in the patterns of comparative advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that a China-Korea-Japan Free Trade Agreement (CJK FTA) will have large benefits to the three Northeast Asian countries and significant implications for global multilateral trade. However, several hurdles seem to make an expeditious completion of a CJK FTA, or even bilateral FTAs between Japan and China or between Japan and Korea extremely difficult. Thus, a pragmatic approach would be to follow a dual-track approach in which China and Korea fast-track the completion of a bilateral FTA between them and the three countries continue their negotiations for a trilateral FTA on a steady track. Neither of these attempts should, however, deter these countries from joining the larger multilateral deals they are pursuing such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) or the Transpacific Partnership (TPP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the impact of firm networks on Japan's national border effect. We estimate gravity equations using data on Japan's international and interregional trade in four machinery industries (electrical, general, precision and transportation machinery). The machinery sector is the most important manufacturing sector for exports and outward foreign direct investment (FDI) in Japan. By taking into account international as well as interregional firm networks, we find that ownership relations usually enhance exports from parent firms to establishment. Consequently we can explain 15% (7%, 1% and 0.5%) of the decline in Japan's border effect from 1980 to 1995 in precision (transportation, general electrical) machinery sector by the increase of international networks.JEL Classification: F14, F17, F21, L14 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effect of political factors on safeguards. We present a simple model to show the relationship between political factors and safeguards, and empirically examine whether the Japanese safeguard system was influenced by the political factors. Our empirical analysis shows that the Japanese safeguard system for agricultural products is not neutral to the WTO Agreement on Safeguards and it is distorted due to political reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides evidence on the importance of geographical distance by investigating the relationship between distance and the share of two-way trade in total trade. Findings are not consistent with the widely held view that intraindustry trade (IIT) falls off rapidly across the entire distance scale. Distance is found to exert a decreasingly positive effect on the IIT share. U.S. trade with Japan and major industrial nations in Western Europe heavily influences this pattern. Two-way trade is not as distance sensitive as previously thought. It is important to understand how geographical distance affects HT because economic integration is more valuable when it allows countries to achieve greater specialization within the same industry. The insensitivity of the HT share to geographical distance suggests distance may not exert a major influence on the optimal degree of regionalization for industrial nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]