Ishiba says Japan, US apart in tariffs talks
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told opposition leaders on Thursday that Tokyo and Washington are considerably apart in negotiations over U.S. tariffs, people familiar with the conversations said.
Ishiba said the Japan-US negotiations are focused on investment rather than tariffs, adding that Tokyo will not rush into a quick agreement with Washington at the risk of undermining its national interests.
He said that Japan focuses on mutual interests, economic security and the expansion of bilateral trade. Japan will not sacrifice agricultural products for automobiles, he said.
Ishiba held talks with opposition leaders to win support from them over the tariff negotiations. He thinks that winning cooperation with them will help him avert a no-confidence motion.
Leaders of opposition parties who met with Ishiba on Thursday included Yoshihiko Noda of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Seiji Maehara of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) and Yuichiro Tamaki of the Democratic Party for the People.
Noda told reporters after the meeting that the talks were "meaningful" as he had called for such a meeting. "We have no choice but to ask the prime minister to do his best" over the tariff talks, he said.
Maehara said, "We want (Japan) to negotiate to win as much national interest as possible." Tamaki said Thursday's meeting "has nothing to do with a no-confidence motion."
Ishiba plans to meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit next week in Canada and explain the results to opposition leaders as early as June 19.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
