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Japan is preparing a package of economic incentives – including expanded purchases of semiconductors and increased defence spending – as it seeks to persuade US President Donald Trump to ease the threat of steep tariffs and protect its vital trade and security alliance with Washington.
Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, is travelling to Washington this week for talks. On Thursday, he stated that Japan is ready to invest significantly in US military equipment to persuade Trump to reduce the coming tariffs. Japan is also prepared to spend up to 1 trillion yen (US$6.9 billion) on US-made semiconductors.
Tokyo is reportedly set to increase its contributions to the cost of stationing US troops in Japan. Currently, Japan pays 211 billion yen annually for base operations, but the Asahi newspaper reported on Thursday that it is willing to cover additional costs in the “tens of billions of yen.”
“It seems clear that the Japanese leadership has decided this is the only way,” said James Brown, a professor of international relations at the Tokyo campus of Temple University.
“Japan has had the benefit of seeing how other countries have responded to US tariffs, such as Canada and the European Union, and concluded that is not the best course of action,” he told This Week in Asia.
Yet another consideration for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s administration is July’s election, Brown said.
