Negotiations between Japan and the U.S. are underway in Washington, in the first real test of whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs will lead to new trade deals.
Trump, posting on social media on Wednesday, seems happy with talks so far. “A Great Honor to have just met with the Japanese Delegation on Trade. Big Progress!” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Apart from Trump’s post, there were few details from Japanese and U.S. negotiators. The meeting included U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The Japanese side is led by Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s economic revitalization minister and its chief tariff negotiator.
The only publicly acknowledged result from the meeting was that the two sides are scheduled to meet again.
Akazawa did tell reporters that one issue wasn’t brought up: exchange rates. The Trump administration has accused economies like Japan of manipulating their currencies to get an advantage on trade.
Can Japan get a trade deal?
Japan is a major test of the Trump administration’s willingness to sign trade deals with its closest allies and largest trading partners. The Asian country, along with South Korea, Australia, the U.K. and India, is among the U.S.’s top priorities for negotiations, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week.
Japanese shares rose slightly on Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index rising 1.35% by market close.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters on Thursday that there are “still gaps between the respective stances of Japan and the U.S.,” and warned that further negotiations will not be easy.
Japan is one of several Asian countries that are bearing the brunt of Trump’s tariffs. Even before Liberation Day, Trump’s 25% tariffs on auto and steel imports posed a significant threat to Japan’s economy.
On April 2, Trump slapped a 24% tariff on all imports from Japan; he later paused those tariffs by 90 days to allow for negotiations. As of now, Japanese imports face a baseline 10% tariff, though cars and steel still get a 25% tax on top of that.
In a post ahead of his meeting with Japan, Trump said he would bring up “tariffs, the cost of military support, and ‘TRADE FAIRNESS.’”
Other world leaders are likely watching the outcome of Trump’s negotiations with Japan. Tokyo has signaled that it’s not going to offer large concessions to the president to get a deal.
In the meantime, Ishiba is on the phone with other world leaders while his point person on trade continues to work in Washington. Public broadcaster NHK reports that Japan’s prime minister spoke separately with French President Emmanuel Macron and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to discuss how best to deal with U.S. tariffs.
