Japan has failed to secure any immediate relief from US tariffs, with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba saying after his envoy held talks in Washington that future negotiations "won't be easy".

The talks between Ryosei Akazawa and President Donald Trump and other senior US officials were closely watched as a barometer for Washington's negotiations with other countries reeling from US tariffs.

"Of course, the discussions going forward won't be easy, but President Trump has expressed his desire to give the negotiations with Japan the highest priority," Ishiba said in Tokyo.

"We recognise that this round of talks has created a foundation for the next steps, and we appreciate that," Ishiba said, calling Akazawa's discussions in Washington "frank and constructive".

"Of course there is a gap between Japan and the US," he said.

Japanese companies are the biggest investors into the United States.

But Japan is subject to the same 10-percent baseline tariffs imposed by Trump on most countries as well as painful steeper levies on cars, steel and aluminium.

One in 10 jobs in the world's fourth-biggest economy is tied to the automotive industry.

Trump has suspended for 90 days so-called reciprocal tariffs on a slew of countries, including Japan which faced a further 24 percent, but imposed them on China.

In addition to taking more US goods, Trump reportedly wants Japan to buy more US defence equipment and to do more to strengthen the yen against the US dollar.

Trump inserted himself directly into trade talks with Japanese officials, a sign of the high stakes for the United States after its tariffs rattled the economy and caused the administration to assure the public that it would quickly reach deals.

The Republican president attended the meeting alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, top economic advisers with a central role in his trade and tariff policies.

“Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!” Trump wrote in a social media post ahead of the meeting.

Afterward, he posted: “A Great Honor to have just met with the Japanese Delegation on Trade. Big Progress!”

Akazawa said afterwards that Trump's administration wants a trade deal within the current 90-day freeze on "reciprocal" levies.

"I understand that the US wants to make a deal within the 90 days. For our part, we want to do it as soon as possible," Akazawa said.

He declined to comment in detail on the negotiations but said that the strength of the yen was not discussed.

Akazawa said after talks with Bessent and Greer that he told the US side the tariffs on Japan were "extremely regrettable".

He said both sides aimed to reach an agreement "as soon as possible" which Trump and Ishiba would announce.

"Second, we will work to schedule the next consultation to be held within this month. And third, we will continue to hold discussions at the working level in addition to the ministerial level," he said.

"Based on the results of this consultation, we will continue to work together as a government with the highest priority and full effort," he said. (AFP/AP)
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Last updated: 2025-04-17 HKT 11:46