Ishiba presses Trump on tariffs in phone call ahead of new talks

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that he had again pressed U.S. President Donald Trump on tariffs, in a phone call ahead of fresh talks on easing the levies.

Japan, a key U.S. ally and its biggest investor, is subject to the same 10 percent baseline tariffs imposed on most nations plus steeper levies on cars, steel and aluminium.

Trump also announced 24 percent “reciprocal” tariffs on Japan in early April, but later paused them along with similar measures on other countries until early July.

Ishiba said he spoke with Trump for 45 minutes on Friday morning — Thursday evening in Washington — and that a “broad range of topics were discussed, including tariffs and economic security”.

“I conveyed to him Japan’s position on U.S. tariffs,” Ishiba told a news conference in Tokyo, adding that there was “no change to our calls for the removal of tariffs.

“As I’ve said before, it’s not just about tariffs but about investment. There will also be no change to our position that Japan and the U.S. will cooperate on generating employment in the U.S.,” he said.

The comments came as Japan’s tariffs envoy, economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, left for Washington for a third round of talks. visit japan today