ABSTRACT
Forty-five years after Professor Kiyoshi Kojima's plan for a Pacific Free Trade Area gave birth to the Pacific Trade and Development Conference (PAFTAD) (Patrick 1996; Terada 1999), reality is approaching his vision. The region has become highly integrated, and most of its economies are embarked on robust, market-based development. Living standards have risen beyond expectations, and even the PAFTAD optimists of 1968 would be surprised to see how effectively Asia is leading the recovery from a global crisis that originated in the United States. In 2006, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders called for a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific, and three different regional negotiating tracks appear to provide pathways toward it.
