Plea to name submarine after freedom fighter Abid Hasan Safrani
Ismat Mehdi, who is Safrani's niece, has written to Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, requesting him to name a submarine after the freedom fighter. Prof. Ismat recalled that Major Safrani was Netaji's companion on the historic voyage aboard a submarine from Germany to Sumatra. En route, they boarded a Japanese submarine.
'It is for this reason that I request naming one of the submarines as INS Safrani,' she wrote.
In his reply, Admiral Tripathi expressed his gratitude to Prof. Ismat for suggesting the name. 'Indian Navy deeply values the contributions made by our freedom fighters to the Indian Freedom movement including that of Shri Abid Hasan Safrani. Your suggestion has been duly noted and forwarded to the concerned authority for consideration, subject to established guidelines,' he wrote.
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Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
Trump strikes tariff deal with Japan, auto stocks surge
U.S. President Donald Trump struck a trade deal with Japan that lowers tariffs on auto imports and spares Tokyo from punishing new levies on other goods in exchange for a $550 billion package of U.S.-bound investment and loans. It is the most significant of a clutch of agreements that Trump has bagged since unveiling sweeping global levies in April though, like other deals, exact details remained unclear. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Technology Public Policy Digital Marketing Management Cybersecurity Project Management Degree MCA Product Management Operations Management Data Science Leadership Data Analytics healthcare others Data Science Finance CXO Others MBA Artificial Intelligence Design Thinking PGDM Healthcare Skills you'll gain: Duration: 12 Weeks MIT xPRO CERT-MIT XPRO Building AI Prod India Starts on undefined Get Details As part of the deal, Japan will buy 100 Boeing planes and hike defense spending with U.S. firms to $17 billion annually, from $14 billion, a White House official said. Japan's auto sector, which accounts for more than a quarter of its U.S. exports, will see existing tariffs cut to 15% from levies totaling 27.5% previously. Duties that were due to come into effect on other Japanese goods from August 1 will also be cut to 15% from 25%. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that Japan received the 15% rate on auto tariffs "because they were willing to provide this innovative financing mechanism" that he did not think other countries could replicate. The announcement Tuesday evening sent Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index climbing almost 4% to its highest in a year, led by stocks in automakers with Toyota up more than 14% and Honda nearly 11%. Live Events Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday, shoring up expectations of further agreements ahead of the fast-approaching August 1 deadline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 158.7 points, or 0.36%, at the open to 44661.12. "I just signed the largest TRADE DEAL in history with Japan," Trump said in announcing the deal on social media. On Wednesday he said Japan and Indonesia were opening their markets to the U.S. "I will only lower tariffs if a country agrees to open its market," Trump wrote. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who denied reports on Wednesday that he had decided to quit following a bruising election defeat, praised the tariff agreement as "the lowest rate ever applied among countries that have a trade surplus with the U.S." Two-way trade between the two countries reached nearly $230 billion in 2024, with Japan running a trade surplus of nearly $70 billion. Japan is the fifth-largest U.S. trading partner in goods, U.S. Census Bureau data show. The U.S. investment package includes loans and guarantees from Japanese government-affiliated institutions of up to $550 billion to enable Japanese firms "to build resilient supply chains in key sectors like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors," Ishiba said. The White House official said Trump could, for example, select a semiconductor manufacturing project that would be built with Japanese funds, leased to operating companies and the resulting leasing profit split 90% to 10% between the U.S. and Japan. Tariffs on medicines and semiconductor chips will be negotiated separately, a White House official said. Japan will also buy $8 billion in agricultural and other products and boost rice purchases by 75%, the White House official said. Ishiba said the share of U.S. rice imports may increase under its existing framework but that the agreement did "not sacrifice" Japanese agriculture. Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida called the deal "very big progress" and said it reduces uncertainty over the economic outlook. Some economists had forecast the tariffs could have tipped Japan - the world's fourth-largest economy - into recession. Keidanren, Japan's biggest business lobby, welcomed the deal, saying it was a recognition of the significant contributions Japanese companies have made to the U.S. economy and society. The exuberance in financial markets spread to shares of South Korean and European carmakers, as the Japan deal stoked optimism that they could strike similar deals. U.S. automakers signaled their unhappiness with the deal, raising concerns about a trade regime that cuts tariffs on Japanese auto imports while leaving tariffs on imports from their plants and suppliers in Canada and Mexico at 25%. "Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no U.S. content than the tariff imposed on North American-built vehicles with high U.S. content is a bad deal for U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers," said Matt Blunt, who heads the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents General Motors Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis . 'MISSION COMPLETE' "#Mission Complete," Japan's top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa wrote on X following a meeting with Trump at the White House on Tuesday. Akazawa later said the deal does not cover Japanese exports of steel and aluminum, currently subject to a 50% tariff. As part of the agreement, Japan will drop additional safety tests currently imposed on imported U.S. cars and trucks, Akazawa added, requirements that Trump has said limit sales of American-made autos there. Some last-minute negotiations over the eye-catching investment package appear to have helped seal the deal, a photo of Akazawa's meeting with Trump posted by one of his aides showed. The photo posted on X by Trump's assistant Dan Scavino, pictured the president seated opposite Akazawa with a document titled 'Japan Invest America' in front of him. A sum of "$400B" written in large letters on the document was scored out, with "$500" hand-written above it. Japan is the largest foreign investor in the United States, according to U.S. government data, with an investment position of $819 billion at the end of 2024. Trump aides are feverishly working to close trade deals ahead of the August 1 deadline that Trump has repeatedly pushed back under pressure from markets and intense lobbying by industry. By that date, countries are set to face steep new tariffs beyond those Trump has already imposed since taking office in January. Trump has announced framework agreements with Britain, Vietnam, Indonesia and paused a tit-for-tat tariff battle with China, though details are still to be worked out with all of those countries. At the White House, Trump said negotiators from the European Union would be in Washington on Wednesday.
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First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Japanese PM Ishiba vows to stay on despite election loss, pledges to prioritise new US tariff pact
Despite his business-as-usual demeanour, Ishiba is under increasing pressure to resign after the LDP and junior coalition partner Komeito lost their majority in Sunday's election in Japan's 248-member upper house, shattering his grip on power read more Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba promised on Wednesday to remain in power to supervise the implementation of a new Japan-US tariff pact, amid media speculation and rising calls for his resignation following his governing party's historic setback. At party headquarters, Ishiba met with senior members of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), as well as former Prime Ministers Taro Aso, Fumio Kishida, and Yoshihide Suga. He later told reporters that they did not discuss his resignation or a new party leadership contest, but rather the election results, voter dissatisfaction, and the urgent need to avoid party discord. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Despite his business-as-usual demeanour, Ishiba is under increasing pressure to resign after the LDP and junior coalition partner Komeito lost their majority in Sunday's election in Japan's 248-member upper house, the smaller and less powerful of Japan's two chambers of parliament, shattering his grip on power. It followed a defeat in the more powerful lower house in October, and his coalition now lacks a majority in both chambers of parliament, making it much more difficult for his administration to adopt programs and exacerbating Japan's political instability. Despite calls from within and beyond his party for his resignation, Ishiba says he plans to remain on to address important issues, such as tariff discussions with the United States, in order to avoid creating a political vacuum. Ishiba 'keeps saying he is staying on. What was the public's verdict in the election all about?' said Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the surging Democratic Party for the People, or DPP. At the LDP, a group of younger lawmakers led by Yasutaka Nakasone started a petition drive seeking Ishiba's early resignation and renewal of party leadership. 'We all have a sense of crisis and think the election results were ultimatum from the voters,' he said. Japanese media reported that Ishiba is expected to soon announce plans to step down in August. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The conservative Yomiuri newspaper said in an extra edition on Wednesday that Ishiba had decided to announce his resignation by the end of July after receiving a detailed report from his chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, on the impact of the US tariffs on the Japanese economy, paving the way for a new party leader. Ishiba denied the report and said that he wants to focus on the US trade deal, which covers more than 4,000 goods affecting many Japanese producers and industries. He welcomed the new agreement, which places tariffs at 15% on Japanese cars and other goods imported into the US from Japan, down from the initial 25%. Still, local media are already speculating about possible successors. Among them are ultraconservative former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, who lost to Ishiba in September. Another conservative ex-minister, Takayuki Kobayashi, and Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of former popular Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, are also seen as potential challengers. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In Sunday's election, voters frustrated with price increases exceeding the pace of wage hikes, especially younger people who have long felt ignored by the ruling government's focus on senior voters, rapidly turned to the emerging conservative DPP and right-wing populist Sanseito party. None of the opposition parties have shown interest in forming a full-fledged alliance with the governing coalition, but they have said they are open to cooperating on policy. People expressed mixed reaction to Ishiba, as his days seem to be numbered. Kentaro Nakamura, 53, said that he thought it's time for Ishiba to go, because he lacked consistency and did poorly in the election. 'The (election) result was so bad and I thought it would not be appropriate for him to stay on,' Nakamura said. 'I thought it was just a matter of time.' But Isamu Kawana, a Tokyo resident in his 70s, was more sympathetic and said if it wasn't Ishiba who was elected prime minister last year, the result would have been the same. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I think he got the short end of the stick,' Kawana said.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Relief For Japan After US Tariffs Cut, But Says It Is "No Surprise"
In the Japanese city of Seki, famed for its razor-sharp artisan knives, news that incoming US tariffs will be lowered is welcome but not entirely unexpected. Around 40 percent of kitchen blades produced in Seki, where knifemaking expertise dates back 700 years, are exported to the United States, local authorities say. The two countries announced Wednesday they had cut a deal to lower the 25-percent tariffs on Japanese goods threatened by US President Donald Trump -- starting on August 1 -- to 15 percent. "Lower tariffs are better" but "I'm not that surprised" at the trade deal, said Katsumi Sumikama, head of Sumikama Cutlery in Seki. "I don't know what truly happened, but I feel like maybe Trump thought tariffs up to 15 percent were acceptable, and boldly proposed a higher tariff rate at first," Sumikama told AFP. "Then as the negotiations took shape, he tried to create a good impression in the public eye by lowering it from 25 percent. That kind of strategy would be so Trump-like." The US leader, who hailed the Japan deal as "massive", has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariffs if they do not hammer out a pact with Washington by the end of July. Japan is one of five nations to have signed an agreement -- along with Britain, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines -- after Trump said in April he would strike "90 deals in 90 days". Headlines have focused on the impact of US tariffs on the likes of Toyota and others in Japan's huge auto industry, as well as trade in steel, rice and other key goods. But Japanese knives have in recent years become a luxury must-have in kitchens worldwide including the United States, partly fuelled by a pandemic-era home cooking boom. 'Weathered The Storm' Blademaking in Seki dates back to the 14th century, when the city in the mountains of Gifu region became a major producer of swords thanks to its rich natural environment. Today its knives are prized for their precision, sleek finish and long lifespan, with record tourism to Japan also boosting sales for companies like Sumikama Cutlery. Exports to North America, including Canada, account for just five percent of the firm's sales on a value basis. The company exports more knives to Europe and other Asian countries. CEO Sumikama, who is in his 60s, said he did not plan price hikes for the US market, even before the tariffs were reduced. Seki's industry has "weathered the storm" through the decades, including during exchange rate fluctuations -- with one dollar worth 80 yen or more than 300 yen at times, he told AFP. On the US side, clients have also survived tumultuous events such as the 2008 financial crisis, meaning they are "not worried at all" about tariffs, he added. If Trump is "trying to make America strong by deliberately raising tariffs" he should know that "problems cannot be solved by such simple means", Sumikama said, adding that "American people will have to bear the burden of higher costs". Sumikama Cutlery, which has about 30 workers, uses machines that guarantee accuracy to one-thousandth of a millimetre to make the knives, then artisans finish the job by hand. Japanese knives make food taste better, "have unique 'wabi-sabi' aesthetics" -- meaning beauty in imperfection -- "and when it comes to sharpness, they're second to none", Sumikama said. "Different countries have different strengths and weaknesses... even if President Trump tells people to make (Japanese-style) knives, they cannot."
