Japan’s Emerging Role in the Global Pharmaceutical Intellectual Property Regime: A Tale of Two Trade Agreements

Authors: Belinda Townsend, Deborah Gleeson and Ruth Lopert. Abstract: This paper explores Japan’s role in reshaping the global pharmaceutical intellectual property regime by examining its position on the expansion of intellectual property rights (IPR) in negotiations for two regional trade agreements: the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Through systematic analysis of leaked negotiating texts documenting its positions on key issues, we demonstrate Japan is now playing a pivotal role in promoting the adoption of expanded IPRs.