During his visit to the United States, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoji Muto asked his American colleagues to exempt Tokyo from tariffs that Washington had decided to impose on imported steel and automobiles, among other things.
He spoke about this at a press conference after a meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
“I stated that the tariff measures that the US government had previously announced should not apply to our country,” he said. “In response to my explanation, the American side expressed its intention to continue close negotiations regarding the development of bilateral economic relations,” Muto added, refraining from giving details of the negotiations on this topic.
At the same time, in response to additional clarifying questions, Muto noted that “there is no talk of Japan being excluded [from the list of those subject to tariffs] from tomorrow.”
Among other topics, according to Muto, the parties discussed cooperation in the energy sector, including increasing Japan’s purchases of American LNG.