Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), an important strategy signifying America's return to Asia, has attracted much attention internationally recently. In November 2011, Japan expressed the wish to join the TPP in APEC Summit in Hawaii. The main reasons for Japan to join the TPP include: to promote Japan's economic development, to strengthen the U.S.-Japan Alliance and to constrain the growing influence of China in the Asian-Pacific region. In spite of such justifications, however, a great divide in opinions on whether Japan should join the TPP negotiations is found in the Japanese pubic.Japan's TPP strategists are faced with dilemma and it's not likely that an agreement is to be reached any time soon.General view holds that Japan, being an important economic entity in the East Asia region, will exercise considerable influence on the process of regional economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, whatever TPP strategies the country may decide in the end. <<