Press Conference by Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru Regarding the Second Round of the Japan-U.S. Consultation on U.S. Tariff Measures

(On the content of the briefing Minister Akazawa provided to Prime Minister Ishiba regarding Minister Akazawa's second meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent on tariff negotiations, and on Prime Minister Ishiba's evaluation of the meeting; and, in light of Minister Akazawa's remarks during a doorstop press conference in Washington, D.C. that an agreement with the U.S. could be reached as early as June, on whether or not Prime Minister Ishiba believes that during this round of bilateral negotiations, Japan and the United States attained a common understanding about reviewing the series of tariff measures, which is Japan's goal, and on how the Japanese Government will continue the negotiations from now)

After the meeting concluded, Mr. Akazawa reported to me that from 6:00 this morning Japan time, for approximately 130 minutes, a substantial period of time, he held considerably in-depth discussions with [Treasury Secretary] Bessent, [Commerce Secretary] Lutnick, and [Trade Representative] Greer, all three being Cabinet members or a Representative. This is in line with what Minister Akazawa stated during his impromptu press conference in Washington, DC. During the consultation, the U.S. side stated its approach, which was consistent with what it has stated until now, and the Japan side did not deviate at all from its stance of urging the elimination of these tariff measures.

The discussion placed focus on expanding trade and addressed cooperation in such areas as non-tariff measures and economic security, and we intend to have future discussions focus on hammering out the details more concretely. I cannot disclose the particulars of what came up during the session, but constructive, in-depth discussions were held. However, we are not yet at the stage where we have succeeded in identifying points of agreement. Having said that, I was informed that the consultation was extremely forward-looking and constructive.

As for the timing, this is a matter of negotiation, so Minister Akazawa also has not made any definitive statements about the approximate timeline for an agreement to pan out. Going forward, we will continue to clearly spell out Japan's stance, with the U.S. side making various points and our side also laying out our arguments. This consultation is taking place at the ministerial level, and there have been no changes to the process moving ahead, whereby the details will be sorted out at the working level and then taken up at the next round of ministerial-level negotiations. I think Minister Akazawa touched on this point as well when he spoke to the media while there in Washington, D.C.

(Insofar as Minister Akazawa made some mention of agreement potentially being reached in June, on whether or not the Japanese Government regards its reiterated request to remove the series of tariff measures as being successfully conveyed to the U.S. side, and on whether or not the elimination of these tariff measures will also be part of the agreement, should agreement in fact be reached in June)

I am not aware that Minister Akazawa has made any definitive statement on that matter. There is a well-known maxim, "Festina lente" ("Make haste slowly"), meaning that quicker is not always better. Japan is firmly advocating for our own national interests. This is not at all a case in which we will make concessions regarding those interests just to come to a quick resolution. Both the U.S. and Japan are engaged in negotiations grounded in their own national interests. We are each devoting the greatest possible effort to identifying common ground, so I do not think it is appropriate to be talking about the timing. Now, it's true that the sooner we achieve this, the better, but it should go without saying that we cannot be so focused on speed that the agreement results in our national interests being sacrificed.