RCEP in East Asia comes into effect

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement for East Asia, which includes Japan, China, South Korea and ASEAN, came into effect on January 1, 2022. The agreement will create a huge economic zone that accounts for about 30% of the world's GDP. For Japan, this is the first FTA to be concluded with China and South Korea, and some estimates suggest that it will increase Japan's exports to the region by more than 5% compared to 2019.