Abstract
A number of free trade agreements (FTA) have been signed under the deadlock in the WTO multilateral trade negotiation after rriid-1990s. It was not before 2000 that the Japanese governnient decided upon a positive trade policy to promote FTAs with Asian countries in order to cope with the European Unioni (EL) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) . In almost all FTAs, trade goods which are not liberalized are agricultural products. Trade goods which are heatedly discussed in FTA negotiations between Japan and its counterparts are also agricultural products, because agricultural products fromrl Japan are hardly competitive ini the international market. The author, by studying both international and domestic discussions in the recent FTA negotiations, shOWS that there are differences between the logic of industrial side, which is based on the comparative advantage theory and the rriarket economy, and that of agricultural side, which is based on the special nature of agriculture.
