Noda and key ministers appear keen to join talks on the trade pact, which could ease Japanese firms fears of falling further behind rivals such as South Korea and even help persuade foreign investors that Tokyo is capable of reform.
"The Asia-Pacific region is an engine of economic growth. We must make high-level economic partnerships a plus for Japan," Kyodo news agency quoted Noda as saying in an interview with domestic media.
But in acknowledgement that there is no unity in his Democratic Party (DPJ) over the trade deal, Noda also said no particular decision was preordained, Kyodo added.
Many DPJ lawmakers oppose joining the United States and eight other countries in talks on Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) for fear of angering the powerful farm lobby.
The Agricultural Cooperative Association (JA) staunchly opposes losing the high tariff protection that keeps Japan's farm sector alive and supports producers, the majority of whom are elderly part-timers working tiny plots. Japan has so far managed to isolate agriculture from trade deals it has forged.
Agricultural output accounts for only about 1 percent of Japan's GDP, but the farm vote can still sway election outcomes due to their organised clout and an electoral system that favours rural over urban votes.
"JA is not as powerful as it once was, but in districts where the two main parties compete for a single seat ... JA has the power to defeat a candidate," said Kazuhito Yamashita, research director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies.
Most farmers for decades voted for the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), but many backed the DPJ in the 2009 election that vaulted it to power, enticed by promises of direct income subsidies that keep small producers in business.
Corporate Pressure
Corporate Japan, though, is pressing the government to decide on joining TPP negotiations in time for a Nov. 12-13 Asia-Pacific leaders' summit in Hawaii, where Noda is likely to meet U.S. President Barack Obama.
"I am totally in favour (of joining TPP). If we fail at this, Japan has no future," Tadashi Yanai, CEO of Fast Retailing, Asia's largest clothing retailer, told reporters recently. "And if we wait until talks are finished and don't participate in the rule-making ourselves, we will wither away."
The TPP has been billed as a "21st century" trade deal because it would not only eliminate tariffs but address other trade barriers, tackling tough issues such as supply-chain management, border procedures and regulatory hurdles either for the first time or with more emphasis than in previous pacts.
South Korea is not a member of TPP, which besides the United States includes Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. But Seoul has already forged free trade deals with the European Union and the United States, sending shivers down Japanese exporters' spines.
"Moves to create common rules and reduce barriers to trade and investment are advancing country-to-country," Trade Minister Yukio Edano told NHK public TV on Sunday.
"Japan is already in a disadvantageous position."
Economists say besides boosting Japanese exports, joining the TPP and other trade deals would force Japan to deregulate sectors plagued by red-tape that keeps out newcomers, whether domestic or foreign, and makes it hard to foster new businesses.
"The key message of joining free trade deals such as TPP ... would be that Japan is opening up," said Kenichi Kawasaki, a senior analyst at Nomura Securities.
"Sending the message that Japan is opening up ... would also raise expectations that Japan is capable of reform." (Reuters)
