The European Union (EU) and Japan began to search for the conclusion of a free trade agreement (FTA) around 2010, and formal negotiations on the EU-Japan FTA (EJFTA) began in April 2013. The negotiations took a longer time than expected, reaching a signature on the agreement in July 2018. This article, by taking into account the character of the EJFTA as a representative mega-FTA, examines how two variables—the influence of interconnected FTA structure and political leaders’ responses to anti-multilateralism—influenced the development process of the EJFTA. This article makes two main arguments. First, the presence and substance of other FTAs in which the EU and Japan had been involved brought about both positive and negative effects on the development of the EJFTA. Second, moves towards anti-multilateralism and market disintegration in 2016–17 urged Japanese and European leaders to pursue a swift conclusion of negotiations on the EJFTA.

中文翻译：

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不断演变的全球贸易政治中的欧盟-日本自由贸易协定

欧盟（EU）与日本于2010年左右开始寻求达成自由贸易协定（FTA），欧盟-日本FTA（EJFTA）的正式谈判于2013年4月开始，谈判耗时比预期更长，于 2018 年 7 月签署该协议。 本文考虑到 EJFTA 作为具有代表性的大型 FTA 的特征，研究了两个变量——相互关联的 FTA 结构的影响和政治领导人对反多边主义的反应——影响了EJFTA的发展进程。这篇文章提出了两个主要论点。第一，欧盟和日本参与的其他自贸协定的存在和实质，对日欧自贸协定的发展带来了积极和消极的影响。第二，