"The economic strategic significance of the TPP remains the same even if the United States has pulled out. I exchanged views with (Ciobo) on the importance of free trade," Ishihara was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency.
The Japanese senior official though made no comments on the possibility of the deal without US participation.
On January 23, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the TPP agreement. The deal would have removed trade barriers among its signatories, which together account for 40 percent of the world's economy.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly criticized the TPP deal and vowed to reject it if elected president. Trump’s opponent Hilary Clinton also opposed the trade agreement that was championed by former President Barack Obama.
The TPP agreement between the United States and 11 other Pacific-Rim states was negotiated in unusual secrecy. Critics had voiced significant concern the trade deal would undermine standards and regulations on environmental protection, health and safety, as well as workers’ rights.
For his part, Trump has voiced the necessity to replace multilateral agreements by bilateral deals that would be more beneficial for the United States.
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