Japan Tobacco Inc., Asia’s biggest listed cigarette maker, sued the government of Thailand over a plan to increase the size of health warnings on cigarette packages, claiming the move is unconstitutional.
The Philippines and Japan have agreed to settle all disputes domestically under the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement unless the Secretaries of Trade of both countries agree to bring the dispute to an international arbitration court.
The Philippines and Japan are moving towards adopting arbitration procedures in settling disputes to avoid lengthy and expensive court battles in protecting investments from both sides as they finalize their proposed bilateral free trade pact.