TOKYO, April 10 – Japan has conveyed its “extreme regret” over the reciprocal tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, urging Washington to retract them, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Wednesday.
Hayashi, the top government spokesman, made the comments hours after a 24 percent reciprocal tariff took effect, despite Japan’s request for an exemption, Kyodo news agency reported.
“The wide range of trade-restrictive measures by the United States would have a large impact not only on bilateral economic ties but also on the global economy and the multilateral trading system,” Hayashi said at a regular press conference.
“We will continue to strongly ask the United States to review the measures,” he said, amid escalating fears that the significantly higher tariff will choke Japan’s export-oriented economy.
Japan and the United States are set to open ministerial talks on the tariff issue based on an agreement reached during a telephone conversation on Monday between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump. Tokyo is one of Washington’s closest security allies.
To address growing concerns about the negative fallout of the U.S. tariffs, including a 25 percent levy on car imports, Ishiba has pledged that his government will do all it can to protect the economy from what he calls a “national crisis.”
