Japan's Ishiba warns against tension over tariffs and vows to expand Asia-Pacific trade group

Key Points

• At a Tokyo forum, PM Ishiba warned that high tariffs undermine economic prosperity and vowed to defend free and multilateral trade systems.
• Chief negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is in Washington seeking U.S. tariff rollbacks, with potential U.S. farm and defense equipment purchases as bargaining chips.
• Ishiba pledged to expand and upgrade the CPTPP framework as a model for a rules-based, free and fair Asia-Pacific economic order.
• While deepening ties with Southeast Asia and Europe, Japan reaffirmed the U.S. as its security lynchpin and remains committed to their alliance.

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed determination Thursday to defend rules-based, free and multilateral trade systems and work on expanding the main Asia-Pacific trade group at a time of tension over U.S. tariffs.

“High tariffs will not bring economic prosperity," Ishiba told a global forum in Tokyo. “A prosperity built on sacrifices by someone or another country will not make a strong economy.” Japan seeks to work with the U.S. on investment, job creation and manufacturing high quality products for the prosperity of America and the rest of the world, he said.

His comment comes as Japan’s chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa travels to Washington, D.C., for a fourth round of talks aiming to convince the U.S. to drop all recent tariff measures. So far Japan has not been successful in gaining U.S. concessions and is reportedly considering purchases of more U.S. farm products and defense equipment as bargaining chips.

Later Thursday, Ishiba telephoned U.S. President Donald Trump to touch base ahead of the talks in Washington. The two leaders now have “deeper understanding about each other,” Ishiba told reporters, though there is no change to Japan’s position on the tariffs. He declined to give further details.

Akazawa told reporters that defense equipment purchases could “come into view” during the talks because Japan's purchases of defense equipment would contribute to the U.S. trade surplus, though he said Japanese security policy is not subject to "a deal” with another country.

Ishiba, in his speech, also called on other countries in Asia, a global hub of growth, to show “the importance of rules-based, free and fair economic order," and said the way to demonstrate that is to promote the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP.

The 12-nation CPTPP includes Japan, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The U.S. is not a member.

Ishiba pledged that Japan will work toward further expanding and upgrading the framework, which he said not only contributes to the economy but also to peace and prosperity.

While Tokyo is strengthening economic ties with Southeast Asia and Europe, Japan still considers the United States as its lynchpin of security policies.