28. The representative of Japan expressed his delegation's appreciation for the work carried out by the Chairman of the Special Session and for the guiding principles for future work contained in his handover report. Japan stood ready to support future discussions in the meetings of the Special Session based on these guiding principles. In particular, paragraph 16(i) of the report called on Members to focus on what were the acceptable means of facilitating the achievement of the existing level of protection while ensuring that the substantive level of protection remained the same. Japan considered that it was crucial for the Membership to deepen its understanding of the concrete methods and measures used to implement domestically the various proposals on the table. He noted that some Members of the Joint Proposal Group, including Japan, had provided such explanations in the past and he was hopeful to hear similar explanations from the proponents of document TN/C/W/52.
