underway for the purpose of creating a Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) by countries and regions—including Japan—eager to further open trade in the service sector, with negotiations having started in June 2013. In addition, the Government Procurement Agreement aimed to promote the extension of ensuring transparency and market access in the procurement process came into effect on April 16, 2014 in Japan.

## 2 Contributions to and Strategic Utilization of International Organizations

## (1) Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

MLIT is actively involved with APEC Ministerial Meetings and Working Groups in transport and tourism sectors.

At the “8th APEC Transportation Ministerial Meeting” which took place in Tokyo during September 2013, discussions took place based on the theme of “Enhancing Connectivity Through High-Quality Transportation in the APEC Region.” Results that were adopted as part of the “Ministerial Joint Statement” included the following initiatives: 1) Develop a transportation “Connectivity Map” to visualize the ideal transport network within the APEC region to be completed by the year 2020, 2) Promote cooperation and sharing of sound practices regarding transportation infrastructure investment, financing and operations in each economy, and 3) Develop a “Quality Transport” vision encompassing convenience, efficiency, safety, security, and sustainability as priorities. A report of progress will be made regarding the three initiatives listed above in the Ministerial Joint Statement at the “9th APEC Transportation Ministerial Meeting” to be held in the Philippines in 2015.

In the tourism sector, the “8th APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting” held in Macau, China in September 2014 included presentations on tourism strategy in each economy, as well as collaboration and “smart tourism” in the Asia-Pacific market, and discussions on promoting low-carbon tourism.

## (2) Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

The MLIT is involved in various cooperative projects under the “ASEAN-Japan Transport Partnership,” a cooperation framework in the transport sector founded between Japan and ASEAN in 2003. The “ASEAN-Japan Transport Partnership” is held every year under the “ASEAN-Japan Ministerial Conference on Transport” to monitor the progress of current projects and to discuss new projects and future direction.

The “12th ASEAN-Japan Ministerial Conference on Transport” was held in Myanmar in November 2014. In addition to project implementation planning for the “ASEAN-Japan Transport Partnership Work Plan 2014-2015,” four other new collaborative projects were approved: 1) The development of a new environmental action plan, 2) The ASEAN-Japan cruise promotion strategy, 3) Investigation for the realization of a land bridge, and 4) Maritime safety. Also, the results of the “ASEAN-Japan Transport Partnership” included the approval of four documents: 1) Port EDI introduction guidelines, 2) The ASEAN-Japan cruise promotion strategy, 3) “Eco Airport” investigation reports in ASEAN countries, and 4) The land bridge preliminary investigation report.

## (3) Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

The MLIT participates in activities of multiple OECD organizations, including the International Transport Forum (ITF), the Council Working Party on Shipbuilding, the Territorial Development Policy Committee (TDPC), the Tourism Committee, as well as the Joint Transport Research Centre (JTRC), which was jointly established by OECD and ITF.

The ITF is an international framework in which transport ministers from 54 countries play a central role in annual meetings to facilitate high-level and open discussions with world-renowned experts and business persons regarding transport policy. Previous topics discussed include climate change in the transport sector and globalization. The May 2014 ministerial meeting on the theme of “Transportation in a Changing World” resulted in discussions on how transportation is affected by demographic changes, urban concentration of economic activity, changes in the supply chain, climate change, the emergence of new technology, and digitalization.

The “OECD Council Working Party on Shipbuilding” implements policy review to evaluate the soundness of shipbuilding policies to ensure fair competitive conditions in the shipbuilding market, as well as the creation of policy assistance lists that compile the status of financial assistance in partner countries to carry out policy coordination and mutual monitoring among major shipbuilding nations. Research and other efforts are actively underway at the TDPC, including policy review of member countries concerning national land and regional policies, evaluation of urban policies.