{"title":"The EU-Japan economic partnership agreement in Japanese print media: a “cars-for-cheese deal” or “the black ships of European cheese”?","authors":"Tine Walravens, Ivar Padrón-Hernández","doi":"10.1007/s10308-025-00715-6","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EJEPA) entered into force on February 1st, 2019. The agreement was quickly coined the “cars-for-cheese deal”: Agri-food seemed to be the largest winner on the European side while Japan stood to gain most from automotive exports. Up until the final negotiations, however, agri-food was a major stumbling block. Through a qualitative content analysis of EJEPA coverage in five Japanese newspapers with different political and industry profiles, this article examines media treatment of food as a controversial part of the EJEPA. While narratives differed depending on political and industry leanings, we find that the perceived threat from the EJEPA regarding food was often placed within a larger social imagery of a new global order and disadvantageous trade deals, through a conflation with the recently established Trans-Pacific Partnership and its widely reported impact on agriculture. Lastly, beyond a strongly defensive or even victimized narrative in some specialized media, mainstream newspapers also divert attention toward the potential opportunities the EJEPA brings to Japanese exporters and manufacturers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45680,"journal":{"name":"Asia Europe Journal","volume":"23 1","pages":"1 - 22"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Asia Europe Journal","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10308-025-00715-6","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EJEPA) entered into force on February 1st, 2019. The agreement was quickly coined the “cars-for-cheese deal”: Agri-food seemed to be the largest winner on the European side while Japan stood to gain most from automotive exports. Up until the final negotiations, however, agri-food was a major stumbling block. Through a qualitative content analysis of EJEPA coverage in five Japanese newspapers with different political and industry profiles, this article examines media treatment of food as a controversial part of the EJEPA. While narratives differed depending on political and industry leanings, we find that the perceived threat from the EJEPA regarding food was often placed within a larger social imagery of a new global order and disadvantageous trade deals, through a conflation with the recently established Trans-Pacific Partnership and its widely reported impact on agriculture. Lastly, beyond a strongly defensive or even victimized narrative in some specialized media, mainstream newspapers also divert attention toward the potential opportunities the EJEPA brings to Japanese exporters and manufacturers.
期刊介绍:
The Asia-Europe Journal is a quarterly journal dedicated to publishing quality academic papers and policy discussions on common challenges facing Asia and Europe that help to shape narratives on the common futures - including both risks and opportunities - of Asia and Europe. The Journal welcomes academically and intellectually rigorous research papers as well as topical policy briefs and thought pieces on issues of bi-regional interest, including management and political economy, innovation, security studies, regional and global governance, as well as on relevant socio-cultural developments and historical events. Officially cited as: Asia Eur J