The national flags of Japan and the United States are seen in this file photo. (Mainichi)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese and U.S. business leaders on Thursday agreed that supply chains for critical products need more diversification among like-minded nations after the coronavirus pandemic laid bare vulnerabilities and business risks.

       After a two-day virtual meeting, the business leaders also called for the United States to return to the 11-member Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade framework that China and Taiwan are now hoping to join, as Tokyo and Washington seek to realize a "free and open" Indo-Pacific based on shared values.

       "The fact that the business circles of Japan and the United States are strongly asking for the U.S. return to the TPP is a major step forward," Nobuyuki Hirano, head of the Japan-U.S. Business Council, said at an online press conference.

       Japan is a member of the trade pact that entered into force in 2018 after then U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States from the deal.

       The supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 have reinforced the importance of global trade and investments, said Hirano, a special advisor to MUFG Bank, one of Japan's three megabanks.

       The meeting was chaired by Hirano and Douglas Peterson, president and CEO of S&P Global Inc., who serves as head of the U.S.-Japan Business Council.

       China, whose pursuit of greater economic influence and technological superiority is raising the alarm, loomed large over the meeting attended by around 60 corporate executives from Japan and the United States.

       In a joint statement, the business councils said "onshoring," or bringing production back home, is "neither realistic nor desirable," adding that the key to building resilient and "trusted" supply chains is their diversification among different nations, especially like-minded ones.

       The leaders also urged the governments of Japan and the United States to support efforts made by companies to address human rights abuses, including forced labor, in global supply chains, an issue that has gained attention amid concerns over human rights conditions in the Uyghur Muslim minority in China's far-western region of Xinjiang.

       The annual business leaders' meeting came as economic activity has been picking up with vaccinations progressing in Japan and the United States.

       The executives said vaccine certificates are key to an early resumption of cross-border travel and urged both nations to create a road map for "step-by-step" lifting of entry restrictions.

       "We encourage governments to remove obstacles to private-sector collaboration by facilitating a globally consistent regulatory framework for international travel that establishes common standards and science-based reciprocal easing of entry restrictions, such as recognizing accepted vaccination documentation issued in the other country," the statement said.

       On decarbonization, a key theme that would affect businesses in coming years, the councils welcomed both commitments made by their governments to attaining carbon neutrality.

       Climate goals set by the governments should be "achievable, durable" and developed in close coordination with the private sector, the statement said.

       The business leaders called for clarifying policies to attain their desired energy mix so companies can boost investments in innovative technologies.

       Both Japan and the United States aim to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which are blamed for global warming, and attain carbon neutrality by 2050.

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