WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump touted “big progress” in tariff talks with Japan on Wednesday, in one of the first rounds of face-to-face negotiations since his barrage of duties on global imports roiled markets and stoked recession fears.
Japan had not expected the president to get involved in Wednesday’s talks, viewing them as a preliminary, fact-finding mission, a sign that Trump wants to keep tight control over negotiations with dozens of countries expected over coming days and weeks.
Tokyo had also been hoping to limit the scope of the talks to trade and investment matters. But announcing his involvement early Wednesday, Trump said thorny issues including the amount Japan pays towards hosting US troops were among discussion topics.
“A Great Honour to have just met with the Japanese Delegation on Trade. Big Progress!” Trump said in a social media message that contained no details of the discussions.
Opposite Trump was Ryosei Akazawa, a close confidant of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba who serves in the relatively junior cabinet position of economic revitalisation minister.
Speaking to reporters after the talks, Akazawa gave few details but said the parties had agreed to hold a second meeting later this month and that Trump had said getting a deal with Japan was a “top priority”.
Exchange rates, which the Trump administration has said Japan and others manipulate to get a trade advantage, were not part of the talks, Akazawa added.
The dollar strengthened against the yen JPY=EBS after his remarks on forex, up around 0.5% on the day. Tokyo denies it manipulates its yen currency lower to get make its exports cheaper.
Akazawa held a 50-minute meeting with Trump at the White House before another session with his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that stretched to almost an hour and a half, according to Japanese readouts of the talks.
Japan’s prime minister, who has previously said he won’t rush to reach a deal and does not plan to make big concessions, sounded a more cautious tone speaking to reporters later in Tokyo.
“Of course, the negotiations will not be easy going forward, but President Trump has stated that he wants to give top priority to the talks with Japan,” Ishiba said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni heads to the White House on Thursday to discuss tariffs imposed on the European Union with Trump, while Bessent has invited South Korea’s finance minister to Washington for talks next week.
