Akazawa Starts 8th U.S. Visit for Tariff Talks

   Washington, July 21 (Jiji Press)--Japan's economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa on Monday kicked off his eighth visit to the United States for tariff talks with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
   The bruising defeat of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling coalition in Sunday's election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the country's parliament, is shaking the foundation of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's administration, and the development may affect the bilateral tariff negotiations, political watchers said.
   Attention is being paid to whether Tokyo, which is calling on the U.S. side to review its automobile tariffs, and Washington, which is urging Japan to open its markets further to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with the Asian nation, can compromise with each other.
   "We will continue talks energetically so that the two sides can find common ground and reach an agreement," Akazawa, Japan's chief negotiator on tariff issues with the United States, told reporters after arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport.
   He said he does not think that the Upper House election result will negatively affect the negotiations.

(2025/07/22-12:34)

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