A trip to Washington by Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, was abruptly canceled Thursday just before he was set to depart for a 10th round of tariffs talks with the United States.
The Cabinet Secretariat confirmed that the trip was off, saying only that certain items need to be addressed at the working-level beforehand.
Akazawa was scheduled to depart for the United States on Thursday morning and return to Tokyo on Saturday. The trip had been announced on Wednesday.
At a Wednesday news conference, the top negotiator had said he would urge the U.S. to promptly lower its tariffs on Japanese automobiles as agreed in the handshake agreement reached on July 22, and to adjust an executive order so that “reciprocal” tariffs are calculated in a way more favorable to Japan.
Media reports also said he would work with the U.S. to put Japan’s $550 billion investment pledge in writing, as the officials in Washington promised clarity on the investment.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday in the United States that an agreement on the $550 billion pledge — which was made by Japan in the course of negotiations as a concession to get tariffs lowered — will be released later this week.
