Japan prepares for tariff negotiations with US

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has signaled his intention to use every means to mitigate risks to Japan’s economy by selecting his close aide and key economic policy figure, Ryosei Akazawa, to lead tariff negotiations with the US.

Akazawa, who serves as the state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, warned on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs could negatively impact Japanese exports and the global economy. Akazawa told lawmakers he would maintain a “sense of urgency.”

Shunichi Suzuki, a former finance minister who chairs the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s General Council, said Ishiba had chosen a cabinet member with Akazawa who “can act as a playmaker.” He added, “I have worked with him, and he is very talented.”

As the state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, Akazawa coordinates the government’s economic agenda across institutions, giving him access to various bargaining chips and flexibility in negotiations.

Until now, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoji Muto and Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya had been in contact with the US side regarding tariffs through their own channels.

Akazawa is not the first person to lead key trade negotiations with the US in this role.

From 2013, Akira Amari served as the point person for the Obama administration in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks. Toshimitsu Motegi led negotiations for the Japan-US Trade Agreement during Trump’s first term and was described as a “tough negotiator” by his American counterpart, then-US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Akazawa, a former Ministry of Transport bureaucrat, has also served as state minister in the Cabinet Office and state minister of finance. He appears to have policy expertise in areas expected to be covered by the tariff talks.

Meanwhile, the US’s selection of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as its chief negotiator with Japan signals that the dollar-yen exchange rate may also be addressed in the upcoming talks.

Trump’s tariffs are expected to deal a heavy blow to the Japanese economy. A failed response from Ishiba could become a liability for the prime minister as he leads his party into upper house elections this summer.

A senior Japanese official said, “The difference between Trump’s first and second terms is that he has even more power this time.”

Ishiba’s cabinet was already shaky within the LDP and suffered from low approval ratings. His government faces the difficult task of persuading affected industries domestically to abide by the outcome of the negotiation and preparing relief measures.

Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of Japan’s opposition Democratic Party for the People, told reporters on Tuesday, “Even as officials negotiate, there will soon come a time when the prime minister himself must try to break the deadlock with a leaders’ summit.”