Japan and U.S. appoint tariff negotiators after Ishiba-Trump phone call
Japan and the United States have appointed their leads for tariff negotiations, taking the first step in deescalating and resolving a trade war that has unsettled the financial markets and threatens the global economy.
Ryosei Akazawa, minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, will spearhead talks with the U.S., Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters Tuesday after the first meeting of a government task force on the tariffs.
“The prime minister made a judgement based on minister Akazawa’s jurisdiction, his skills and experience, among other things,” Hayashi said, without adding any specifics on the start of the negotiations or the timing of a potential visit to the U.S. by Akazawa.
The U.S. earlier appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to lead negotiations with Japan, Bessent announced in an X post on Monday.
“Japan remains among America’s closest allies, and I look forward to our upcoming productive engagement regarding tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers, currency issues and government subsidies,” Bessent posted, while thanking the Japanese government for its “outreach and measured approach.”
A visit by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the U.S. will be coordinated depending on the state of the negotiations, Hayashi told reporters on Tuesday morning.
The latest appointments were made hours after Ishiba had his first phone call with U.S President Donald Trump since the United States rolled out the new tariffs targeting almost every country in the world. The two leaders agreed to keep dialogue open to address the pressing levy issues.
Markets reacted positively to the phone call, with Japan’s benchmark 225-issue Nikkei stock index jumping 1,900 points Tuesday morning.
