The significant global drop in severe cases and confirmed deaths can be regarded as a positive sign. The number of new cases in Japan is seeing great improvement, as evidenced by the weekly average declining to a considerable extent recently after soaring well above 22,000 persons in mid-August.
After four decades of more or less successful negotiations, the “low-hanging trade agreement fruit,” so to speak, has already been picked. Current trade negotiators, accordingly, now must grapple with the remaining, more difficult issues, such as intellectual property rights and agricultural subsidies. Debates over trade restrictions have understandably become far more confrontational than in earlier years.