Japan-US tariff deal to carry no joint paper: Ishiba
There is no plan to issue a joint document on a tariff agreement reached between Japan and the United States earlier this week, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday.
Ishiba commented on a meeting among leaders of Japanese ruling and opposition parties that was held following the agreement, including a 15 per cent US reciprocal tariff on imports from Japan, cut from 25 per cent announced earlier.
The opposition parties criticised the Japanese government for failing to issue a joint statement on the agreement. They also urged the government to compile a supplementary budget plan, citing the need for economic measures to cushion the tariff impact.
The meeting was attended by Tetsuo Saito, leader of Komeito, the coalition partner of Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and opposition party heads, including Yoshihiko Noda of the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
"We achieved an agreement that serves both countries' national interests while protecting what we should protect," Ishiba said at the beginning of the meeting.
The opposition parties urged Ishiba to explain the details of the agreement.
The US government has not announced a 15 pct tariff for Japanese vehicles. Ishiba said that the Japanese and the US governments agreed on the rate, but it was a matter of interpretation, according to an attendee of the meeting.
On the purchase of 100 aircraft of Boeing Co., the prime minister said that the government took the decision after consulting with Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways.
US President Donald Trump has said that the US side will receive 90 per cent of the profits from 550 billion of investment from Japan. He has also said that the US government will examine the execution of the agreement every quarter.
Ishiba admitted that such discussions have taken place and that the Japanese side plans to examine the execution of the deal.
Noda demanded the compilation of a supplementary budget for fiscal 2025, saying that the US vehicle tariff rate for Japan is up 6-fold from 2.5 per cent, the rate before the tariff hike.
Ishiba said that the impact on the Japanese economy is uncertain without close analysis. He also said that the 15 pct tariff rate is lower than that for other countries, a relative advantage for Japan.
After the meeting, Noda told reporters, "The difference in interpretations will be a problem," referring to the lack of a joint document.
Seiji Maehara, co-head of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), said, "The content (of the agreement) is not detailed, and this is very risky."
"We want to take back the compliment to the government that we made right after the agreement," Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, said.
Komeito's Saito urged Ishiba to hold a summit meeting with Trump "to avoid a misunderstanding."
After the meeting, Ishiba stressed that the government will firmly put the agreement into practice.
"I felt the prime minister's strong wish to remain in his post," Tamaki said.
Over the US tariffs, parliamentary affairs chiefs of the LDP and the CDP agreed to hold a Budget Committee meeting of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, possibly on Aug. 4.
Sanseito was represented at the party leader meeting for the first time. The heads of Reiwa Shinsengumi and the Japanese Communist Party were also present.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
