Japan’s Akazawa to lead talks with US on tariffs

Japan’s Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa (second from left), has been tasked to lead negotiations with the United States on high tariffs. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP)

Tokyo, Japan –Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday appointed economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa to lead negotiations with the US government over its high tariffs.

The Japanese government held the same day the first meeting of its task force to deal with tariffs imposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump, comprising Ishiba and all cabinet ministers.

The prime minister voiced worries that the US tariffs “may have large impacts on various industries,” and called for a “government-wide response based on cooperation and coordination among relevant ministries and agencies.”

READ: Japan warns of ‘significant impact’ from US tariffs

He instructed the ministers to take all possible domestic measures to cope with the US levies, including providing support to small businesses, taking into consideration the possibility of the tariffs being in place for a long time.

Ishiba has already announced the establishment of about 1,000 special consultation windows across the country, to help industries in light of growing concerns over financing and employment retention.

The finance and agriculture ministries each launched internal meetings Tuesday to mull responses to the U.S. tariffs.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi announced in a press conference the same day that Akazawa has been tapped to take the helm in tariff talks with Washington.

“The prime minister made the decision based on (Akazawa’s) ministerial portfolio, skills and experiences,” Hayashi said. “(The Japanese government) will make efforts while thinking about what will serve national interests and what will be most effective.”

Ishiba held a phone meeting with Trump on Monday night, in which the Japanese prime minister called for a review of the tariff measures and the two leaders agreed to each designate a minister to continue talks.

Ishiba is also mulling visiting the United States in order to try to convince the president in person.