Japan urges US to avoid higher tariffs ahead of top leaders’ meeting

Japan urged the US to avoid higher tariffs ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's meeting with President Donald Trump later this month, local media reported Saturday.

In Friday talks in Washington with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's economy, trade, and industry minister, urged the US not to impose higher tariffs on Japanese goods than those agreed to last year, according to Kyodo News.

Speaking to reporters after a two-hour meeting, Akazawa said the discussions also covered joint investment projects and cooperation in key sectors including energy, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence.

The talks come ahead of a planned March 19 White House meeting between Takaichi and Trump.

The issue of tariffs was reignited last month when the US Supreme Court struck down Trump's sweeping global tariffs, with Trump quickly announcing a new global tariff rate of 10% on most imports-with a planned hike to 15%-under a different authority.

Akazawa said he asked the US not to apply the higher tariffs to Japanese imports, citing the deal the countries reached last July.

Under that deal, Japan pledged to invest about $550 billion in strategic industries in the US in exchange for reduced tariffs.