INTERVIEW: Keidanren Exec Calls for Japan-First Stance

   New York, June 17 (Jiji Press)--Japan must balance free trade with a stance of putting itself first, as the United States is likely to maintain the high tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump's administration, Jun Sawada, vice chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, said in a recent interview with Jiji Press.
   Sawada, also chairman each of the Japan-U.S. Business Council and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., proposed that Japan pursue a more independent form of cooperation with the United States by leveraging its strengths in semiconductors and other advanced technologies.
   During the interview in New York on Friday, Sawada noted that it is "almost certain" that the United States will maintain its protectionist trade policy if the Republicans remain in power after the Trump administration.
   He added that even if the Democrats regain power in the 2028 presidential election, the U.S. government "won't change policies as long as its citizens strongly support them."
   Sawada also said that the European Union and China are also expected to change their trade policies in the face of the U.S. policy shift. "There will be both free trade and tariffs," he said.

(2025/06/18-08:30)

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